Global buyers seek creative, cutting-edge products in China's Yiwu

Since the beginning of the new year, Yiwu International Trade City in China's Zhejiang Province has been offering a wide range of practical and high-quality goods as well as cutting-edge technological products, attracting buyers from all over the world.

Yiwu, an eastern Chinese trading hub, has been dubbed "the world's supermarket" for its expansive small commodities market.

Part of the city's global appeal is the merging of practicality and creativity encapsulated in so many of the products.

At the store of merchant Fu Miaoling, one of the new items appears to be a merely decorative wooden tree. However, when the star atop the tree is removed, its branches can be taken off as well and be used as dish holders or coasters, making it an exquisite item for restaurants and tea rooms.

Thanks to this ingenuity, the new product has garnered a large number of orders since its launch.

"It combines innovative design with practical value. Yiwu's capabilities in the development and innovation of product categories are increasing year by year. In just 10 days, our sales and orders should have exceeded 10,000 sets," Fu said.

From everyday gadgets to cutting-edge technology, Yiwu's innovation wave is sweeping the global market. An AI-powered health and wellness companion robot not only features a smart doctor based on a large model but also offers remote consultations, attracting considerable attention from buyers since its launch. Data shows that during the Spring Festival, online inquiries for new products from Yiwu increased by 80 percent year on year, with domestic and international orders fulfilled until the end of April.

"Many AI products have gradually been applied, with the technologies iterating and updating relatively quickly. They have a very promising future because they represent a future trend," said Zhang Jiajin, the businessman who brought the medical facilities.

Statistics show that on the first day back after the Spring Festival holiday, the Yiwu International Trade City welcomed 291,000 visitors, a 23.8 percent increase year on year. The market features 2.1 million new products, enough to satisfy global buyers with diverse needs.

Global buyers seek creative, cutting-edge products in China's Yiwu

Nicaragua's co-foreign minister Valdrack Jaentschke has warned that militarism must never be allowed to rise again, as Japan's recent moves to lift its arms export ban and revise the pacifist Constitution continue to draw international concern.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials, where Japan's Class-A war criminals from World War II were brought to justice.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Valdrack Jaentschke voiced his concern that today's world order is being undermined by interventionism and other challenges.

"It is necessary for us to remember that after the end of World War II, countries worked hard to build a new international order based on international law. However, regrettably, more than 80 years later, we are seeing that this once explored and attempted order is being challenged by interventionism, a confrontational mindset, and tendencies like 'might makes right.' These are precisely the conditions that gave rise to fascism and militarism in the past, which ultimately led to the tragedy of World War II," he said.

He said the international community has a responsibility to pursue a new international order -- one fundamentally grounded in peace.

"Looking back at the history more than eight decades ago and comparing it with today's reality, it is our responsibility to recognize that the world should, and must, build a new international order that is more just, fairer, rooted in international law, based on a logic of mutual benefit and shared success, and fundamentally grounded in peace," said the minister.

"Today, as we revisit the Tokyo Trials, it is meant to remind the world that such a tragedy must never be repeated -- and that we must do everything in our power to prevent it from happening again. We must stop that dark world -- born from militarism, interventionism, and fascism -- from ever returning," he said.

Nicaraguan FM warns of militarism revival