China's Yiwu City saw its import and export volume reached 272.23 billion yuan (about 40.03 billion U.S. dollars) in the first four months of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 17.7 percent, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Saturday.
Known as "the world's supermarket," Yiwu in east China's Zhejiang Province hosts the world's largest wholesale market for small commodities.
"In the first four months, Yiwu's import and export growth rate was nearly 3 percentage points higher than the national average, with its market procurement scale accounting for some 70 percent of the national total. Leveraging the advantages of China's industrial system and new business models such as market procurement, Yiwu continues to write new chapters of 'small commodities, big market,' which serves as a vivid reflection of the 'Yiwu Development Experience' in the field of foreign trade," said Lyu Daliang, director of the statistics and analysis department of the General Administration of Customs.
China's foreign trade grew by 14.9 percent on a yearly basis to reach 16.23 trillion yuan in the first four months of 2026.
The country's exports rose 11.3 percent year on year to 9.33 trillion yuan, while its imports jumped 20 percent on a yearly basis to 6.9 trillion yuan.
Yiwu reports robust foreign trade growth in Jan-April
Chicago youth said the United States should not view China as its No.1 enemy and the two countries should have more technological exchanges.
The youth expressed themselves in random street interviews with China Global Television Network (CGTN).
They said there are competitions between China and the U.S., but China is doing a great job of building their cities.
"China is doing a good job with how it's handling the U.S. given the volatility of the government here," said a local resident.
"We're definitely in competition economically speaking," said another interviewee.
"I don't think there's necessarily a reason why they have to then be enemy number one in that sense. They're doing a great job kind of building up their cities. I think we have a lot to learn from them," said still another interviewee.
In terms of China's technological advancement, the interviewees said China's automobile industry is developing at a rapid pace and they are looking forward to seeing more Chinese cars in the U.S. and more technological exchanges between two sides.
"Chinese vehicles, I would love to see them in the U.S. I think they're miles ahead in terms of production and cost and especially electronic vehicles," said an interviewee.
"Probably some more Chinese cars here. Really cheap, really great cars from what I hear and what I saw when I was there," said another interviewee.
"I feel like there's a lot to learn like technology-wise. I feel like the U.S. kind of holds itself back," said still another interviewee.
Random street interviews catch Chicago youth's impression on China
