"China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone has abundant costal resources and mainly focuses on bulk commodity transfer, bonded bunker fuel oil supply and international maritime services, among other things," said a recruitment representative from the zone at an online recruitment conference in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province on March 16.

The conference was held by the public employment service center of the Zhoushan municipal bureau of human resources and social security with the help of staff members from the districts and counties under the jurisdiction of the municipal government.

The bureau promoted the conference online through WeChat accounts and official websites to attract more college graduates.

According to local authorities, the conference is the first of its kind in the city this year and is meant to promote employment while preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus amid the outbreak.

A total of 136 local enterprises participated in the conference and provided 504 posts with a general job demand of 1,975 in fields such as the green petrochemical industry, marine biology, electronic information, machinery manufacturing and shipbuilding.

The conference attracted nearly 40,000 people, more than 550 of which applied for jobs.

"The conference is really helpful," said Qi Lingyun, director of the comprehensive management office of China Shipping (Zhejiang) Marine Technology. "Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, we can't hold campus recruitment meetings this year. However, thanks to the conference, we have received many job applications."

Officials said that the city will continue to hold similar online recruitment conferences until June to attract more talents. More than 1,000 local companies are expected to participate in the conferences in total.