Yiwu, a city in east China's Zhejiang Province known as the "world's supermarket," is in the peak of the Christmas shopping season, with business up from last year. The Yiwu International Trade Market, which houses nearly 80,000 booths and offers more than 2.1 million types of commodities, allows Christmas buyers to source everything they need in a single visit. "Actually, we can purchase [in] one place everything. So that's a special thing because we have to visit otherwise every place [for] different products, different category, different places. So we're happy," a foreign merchandiser said. As Christmas approaches, local merchants are busy preparing a wide range of holiday products.
"Our sales on e-commerce platforms rose about 20 percent year on year this year. Yiwu city has its own e-commerce platforms for us as well," said Wang Xuxue, founder of Miaomiao Toys. "We have talked to merchandisers from Iran and Saudi Arabia and just signed some deals," said Zhang Zhiyu, founder of another toy firm Xiexin Toys. According to Yiwu Customs, the city exported 2.14 billion yuan (about 316 million U.S. dollars) worth of Christmas products in the first half of this year, up 20.4 percent year on year.
Business booms in "world's supermarket" Yiwu as Christmas nears
China will deepen cooperation with Belt and Road partner countries in green trade and cross-border e-commerce during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), and push ahead with projects already under way, a senior official with the Ministry of Commerce said at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
Speaking at the briefing held by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Song Lihong, a first-level inspector with the Ministry of Commerce, said that China will work to expand imports of quality goods from partner countries and promote exports of products from emerging industries, supporting industrial development in those countries.
"China will continue to grant zero-tariff treatment to the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relationship with China, and implement the full zero-tariff policy for African countries with diplomatic relationship. China will also develop trade in services, promote cooperation in areas such as research and development and design, advance the 'Thousand Sails Going Global' action plan for cultural trade, and keep expanding digital trade," Song said.
China will promote investment cooperation with its Belt and Road partner countries, strengthen industrial and supply chain links, and encourage companies to take part in emerging fields such as green energy, green minerals, the digital economy and artificial intelligence, he added.
China to deepen green trade, e-commerce ties with BRI partners in 15th Five-Year Plan
China to deepen green trade, e-commerce ties with BRI partners in 15th Five-Year Plan
