Yiwu mirrors vitality of China's foreign trade

义乌折射中国外贸活力

The Yiwu International Trade Market, the world's leading small commodities market located in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, is always bustling.

位于中国东部浙江省义乌市的义乌国际贸易市场是世界领先的小商品市场，总是熙熙攘攘。

The market has trade relations with 233 countries and regions. With an area of more than 6.4 million square meters and 75,000 business stores, it offers more than 2.1 million types of commodities.

该市场与233个国家和地区有贸易关系。它拥有640多万平方米的面积和75,000家商业商店，提供超过210万种商品。

A buyer from Costa Rica chooses daily necessities in a store at the Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo/Shi Kuanbing)

在中国东部浙江省义乌市的义乌国际贸易市场，一名来自哥斯达黎加的买家在商店里挑选日用品。（图片/史宽兵）

"I keep working every day with joy and meaning," said He Dan, a toy seller at the market, who is also head of Yiwu Jingxin Toys Co., Ltd.

“我每天都带着快乐和意义工作，”市场上的玩具销售员兼义乌京鑫玩具有限公司的负责人何丹说。

Her store mainly sells interactive dolls, which are particularly popular with customers from countries and regions like South America and Russia.

她的商店主要销售特别受南美和俄罗斯等国家和地区顾客的欢迎的互动娃娃。

"March and April are peak months for customers to place orders. Many customers recently came to inquire about prices and to see the products," she said.

“客户下订单的高峰期是3月和4月。许多客户最近来询问价格和看产品，”她说。

The seller added that most of them are old customers who have kept in touch with her through WeChat, while some are new customers brought by Chinagoods, the official online platform of the Yiwu International Trade Market.

卖家补充说，大部分是通过微信与她保持联系的老客户，也有一些是义乌国际贸易市场官方在线平台Chinagoods带来的新客户。

"I made a good start this year - much better than last year. The next two months will not be bad," she said confidently.

“今年我开了个好头——比去年好多了。接下来的两个月不会太差，”她自信地说。

Fu Miaoling, another seller at the market, was busy at work at her store, which received orders worth 1.2 million yuan ($166,700) during this year's Spring Festival holiday.

市场上的另一名卖家傅妙玲在她的店里忙着工作，今年春节期间收到了价值120万元人民币（16.67万美元）的订单。

"I've been doing business in Yiwu at a frenetic pace like this since 2008, like all the other bosses around me," Fu said.

“从2008年开始，我就以这种疯狂的速度在义乌做生意，像我身边的其他老板一样”傅说。

A worker checks products at a workshop of an outdoor recreation product company in Hongze district, Huai'an city, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Photo/Yin Chao)

中国东部江苏省淮安市洪泽区，一名工人在一家户外休闲产品公司的车间检查产品。（图片/尹超）

Yiwu is the epitome of the vitality of China's foreign trade. The country's foreign trade in goods in the first two months of 2024 stood at 6.61 trillion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 8.7 percent, signaling a good start for foreign trade this year, according to customs data.

义乌是中国外贸活力的缩影。根据海关数据，2024年前两个月，中国对外贸易为6.61万亿元，同比增长8.7%，标志着今年对外贸易的良好开端。

In the same period, the trade volume of private firms in the country reached 3.61 trillion yuan, an increase of 17.7 percent, or 54.6 percent of the total value of China’s foreign trade.

同期，中国民营企业贸易额达到3.61万亿元，增长17.7%，占中国对外贸易总额的54.6%。

"Currently, global economic growth lacks energy. China's foreign trade has maintained growth for many consecutive years and has achieved a good start this year. This is underpinned by the effective implementation of the country's policy of high-standard opening up," said Wei Jigang, deputy director of the Center for International Knowledge on Development (CIKD).

国际发展知识中心（CIKD）副主任魏继刚表示，“目前，全球经济增长缺乏活力。中国对外贸易连续多年保持增长，今年取得了良好的开端。这得益于国家高标准开放政策的有效实施，”。

Qi Xiaoyuan is a self-employed individual who sells food at an e-commerce incubation park that is just half a kilometer away from the Yiwu International Trade Market.

齐是一名个体户，在距离义乌国际贸易市场仅半公里的一个电子商务孵化园卖食品。

Having been in Yiwu for over 10 years, Qi is venturing into cross-border e-commerce livestreams. Her annual sales are worth tens of millions of yuan thanks to her efforts in e-commerce livestreams.

在义乌工作了10多年的齐正在涉足跨境电子商务直播。因为她在电子商务直播方面的努力，她的年销售额价值数千万元。

In April 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation advanced targeted assistance for different categories and types of self-employed individuals in 12 pilot provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, including Zhejiang, where Yiwu was listed as one of the first pilot areas.

2023年4月，国家市场监督管理总局在12个试点省、自治区和直辖市推进了对不同类别和类型个体经营者的定向援助，其中包括浙江，义乌被列为首批试点地区之一。

Thanks to the measure, Qi has benefited from various exclusive policies, receiving professional services in aspects like intellectual property and legal assistance. The local government has also provided her with targeted advice and support to develop cross-border e-commerce, helping sell more products from Yiwu to overseas markets.

由于这项措施，齐受益于各种专属政策，在知识产权和法律援助等方面获得专业服务。当地政府也为她提供了有针对性的建议和支持，以发展跨境电子商务，帮助销售更多来自义乌的产品到海外市场。

Jingxin Toys Co., Ltd. is also a beneficiary of the measure, receiving targeted support in multiple areas such as brand cultivation, financial assistance, logistics, and online traffic. Since 2023, the company has registered one new trademark, 16 copyrights and five design patents, and reduced losses by over 700,000 yuan by taking out insurance against foreign exchange risks. Its annual sales exceeded 10 million yuan, a year-over-year increase of 30 percent.

京鑫玩具有限公司也是该措施的受益者，在品牌培育、财政援助、物流和在线流量等多个领域获得有针对性的支持。自2023年以来，公司注册了1个新商标、16项版权和5项外观设计专利，并通过购买外汇风险保险减少了70多万元的损失。年销售额突破1000万元，同比增长30%。

Photo shows a busy scene of the Chishui terminal of the Wuzhou Lingang Economic Zone in Wuzhou city, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo/He Huawen)

图为中国南方广西壮族自治区梧州市梧州临港经济区赤水码头的繁忙景象。（图片/何华文）

"The targeted assistance for different categories and types of self-employed individuals has vigorously promoted the development of self-employed individuals at the Yiwu International Trade Market. Last year, the market's transaction volume hit 233.13 billion yuan, up 15.36 percent year on year," said Ye Bangrui, mayor of Yiwu city.

义乌市市长叶邦瑞表示：“对不同类别和类型的个体经营者的定向援助有力地促进了义乌国际贸易市场个体经营者的发展。去年，义乌国际贸易市场的交易额达到2331.3亿元，同比增长15.36%。”

"We are going all out to build an ecosystem that 'makes it easier to do business'. For example, we launched a campaign last year, attracting over 1 million global buyers to Yiwu, enabling self-employed individuals to reach global markets 'at home'," Ye added.

叶补充说：“我们正全力以赴打造‘让做生意更容易’的生态系统。例如，我们去年发起了一项活动，吸引了100多万全球买家来到义乌，让个体经营者‘在家’就能进入全球市场。”

Last October, the Yiwu International Trade Market upgraded the Chinagoods AI Smart Service Platform, with AI technology allowing local business owners to upload a short video that can be translated into 36 languages.

去年10月，义乌国际贸易市场升级了Chinagoods AI智能服务平台，人工智能技术允许当地企业主上传一个可以翻译成36种语言的短视频。

Business owners in Yiwu have been actively embracing digital technologies like AI. Chen Meijun, a toy seller at the Yiwu International Trade Market, is one of the merchants to experience the AI technology. She recently posted a video introducing her business in four languages on the platform, which went viral.

义乌的企业主一直在积极拥抱人工智能等数字技术。义乌国际贸易市场的玩具销售商陈美军是体验人工智能技术的商家之一。她最近在平台上发布了一段在网上疯传的视频，用四种语言介绍了她的业务。

Chen said that the voice and lip movements in the translated video also matched her own.

陈说，翻译视频中的声音和嘴唇动作也与她自己的相符。

In 2021, Chen was one of the first toy sellers in the Yiwu International Trade Market to launch an online product showroom. "Thanks to the online showroom, customers don't need to come to the market to see the latest products; they can directly purchase products of all categories online. My sales grew by 10 percent and are still increasing steadily," Chen said.

2021年，陈成为义乌国际贸易市场首批推出在线产品展厅的玩具销售商之一。陈说：“有了网上陈列室，顾客不需要到市场去看最新的产品；他们可以直接在网上购买所有类别的产品。我的销售额增长了10%，而且还在稳步增长。”