Authorities in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province have been making efforts to accelerate the province's transformation into a "Global Migration to 2D" demonstration area since the beginning of this year.

At the workshop of Zhoushan Yuandong Sea Salt Products Co Ltd, every production line is now equipped with robots that issue 2D codes on product packaging.

The codes can store information about the manufacturing details and sell-by dates of products as well as the ingredients used or nutrition values, said an official of Zhoushan administration of market regulation.

The codes can also provide real-time data about products that is useful for adjusting production, said Chai Ludi, the manager of the production department of Yuandong Sea Salt.

The city's market regulator has also conducted training for its 165 seafood enterprises and promoted 2D codes to its major seafood enterprises engaged in the processing of hairtails, large yellow croakers, butterfish and mussels.

Statistics from the city's market regulator show that 289 market entities in Zhoushan have adopted 2D codes, and 190 products of the city's 31 geographical indication seafood companies have been issued 2D codes to date.

Authorities will continue efforts to pursue innovation in using 2D codes and gradually promote the codes to other industries.

In May 2022, Zhejiang signed an agreement with GS1 and GS1 China to become the world's first GM2D demonstration area.

The GM2D initiative is aimed at promoting the global transition from linear bar codes to two-dimensional ones, especially the QR code, in the retail industry by 2027 to improve supply chain efficiency and enhance consumer engagement.