China's central bank announced on Thursday that it will issue a set of commemorative coins starting from Sept 3 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
The set will include one copper-alloy coin, one 8-gram gold coin, one 150-gram silver coin and one 30-gram silver coin, all of which are legal tender in the country, the People's Bank of China said.
All the coins are designed with China's national emblem on the obverse, featuring the inscription "People's Republic of China" in Chinese above the emblem and the year "2025" below it, according to the central bank.
The reverse of the coins will feature various elements, including thematic sculptures and historical museums, along with the Chinese characters for "80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War."
The 8-gram gold and 150-gram silver coins will carry face values of 100 yuan (about 14 U.S. dollars) and 50 yuan, respectively, while the copper-alloy and 30-gram silver coins will each have a face value of 10 yuan.
China to issue commemorative coins for 80th anniversary of victory in war against Japanese aggression and world anti-fascist war
The ripple effects of tensions in the Middle East have now spread to the major eastern Chinese trading hub of Yiwu, a city famously known as "the world's supermarket," as companies and traders try to work around the disruption and rely on strong logistics networks across the region to keep business moving.
The Yiwu International Trade Market has become an important center for foreign trade, housing nearly 80,000 booths offering over two million types of commodities. However, the recent situation brought by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and the disruption it has caused to both shipping transport and air cargo is forcing some traders to take steps to mitigate the impact.
Zhang Shidan, a plastic household goods trader in Yiwu, said her company has been left with no choice but to raise product prices as transportation and insurance costs have surged due to escalating tensions in the Middle East.
"We will adjust prices after the stocks of most products run out. The prices are expected to rise by 10 percent," Zhang said.
The travel turmoil brought by the conflict has also created a headache for customers from the region who are trying to reach Yiwu themselves.
"We flew from Lebanon to Egypt, from Egypt to Dubai, from Dubai to Hangzhou. It's a long time. Because in [the main] Lebanon airport, only one company can fly -- a Middle East company -- so its expensive," said Heysam Yassine, a Lebanese buyer.
While making the trip from the Middle East to Yiwu has become more difficult, logistics companies with well-established supply chain networks across the region are helping to cushion the impact on trade and working to distribute goods as best as they can.
"We have 28 warehouses across 12 countries in the Middle East, so we have a relatively complete layout in the region," said Chen Fangfang, general manager of Safe Way Express Cargo, a logistics and cargo shipping firm.
Last year, the total value of Yiwu's exports reached over 100 billion U.S. dollars, with more than 14 billion U.S. dollars going to Middle Eastern markets.
Traders in Yiwu look to work around Middle East disruption, rely on strong logistics networks
