In the face of uncertainties regarding the external environment and challenges in global supply chains, Zhejiang province's Yiwu has found a quick way out with innovative business models and improved operating patterns.

The city's Yiwu Market saw steady growth last year, when market players navigated through unstable international situations such as decoupling risks, supply chain disruptions and trade protectionism, and the encouraging results are attributable to its "going global" efforts through three key aspects, said Wang Dong, chairman of the market's operator Zhejiang China Commodities City Group Co Ltd.

As a center of global business, information and display of small commodities, the market has first focused on expanding its presence in international markets, with a fund of 1 billion yuan ($136 million) provided to empower trade entities in their international expansion, Wang said.

"Currently, the group has established an overseas submarket in Dubai's free trade zone and is planning similar initiatives in countries such as Egypt, Indonesia and more," he said.

In addition, Wang said the Yiwu market has also concentrated efforts on logistics expansion to ensure supply stability. Through self-built warehouses and franchise models, it has established 210 overseas warehouses and 13 overseas showrooms in over 50 countries and regions.

"Moving forward, the group will focus on nurturing more than 10 hub-type overseas warehouses," Wang said.

To help its brands enhance their global influence and international competitiveness, the market has also placed a huge emphasis on overseas exhibitions. From January to November, the small commodities city organized 28 groups and over 1,380 market entities to participate in nearly 200 overseas exhibitions, he said.

The executive also stressed that to address the challenges posed by the restructuring of global supply and industrial chains, it is essential to create an innovative and secure ecosystem for payment services, where the market's role should be extended from merely "showcasing" to representing the entire trade value chain.

For example, the market's cross-border payment platform "Yiwu Pay" now covers over 160 countries and regions, supports 25 mainstream currencies, and has processed more than $4 billion in cross-border transactions without any disputes or risk-related incidents, Wang said.

"We aim for Yiwu Pay to reach a transaction volume of $5 billion by 2025 and surpass $10 billion by 2026," said Li Jun, deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission, during an earlier news conference.

Li said the platform would continue exploring pilot programs for the digital renminbi in cross-border trade, further supporting international trade expansion.

The innovative development strategies have brought significant results to the small commodities market in Yiwu amid uncertainties. Between January and November last year, the market's transaction volume reached 252.2 billion yuan, up 22 percent year-on-year. The average daily foot traffic stood at 224,000, with over 3,900 foreign visitors, both setting new 10-year records, according to data from the local government.

Li added that as a new round of comprehensive reforms advances, there is another critical factor other than trade itself calling for more attention — business environment improvements.

According to government data, in the first 11 months of 2024, the number of inbound foreign traders in Yiwu reached 514,600, up 55 percent year-on-year, with an expected total of 570,000 foreign visitors for the full year, a record high.

To provide high-quality supportive services covering entry-exit facilitation, housing, healthcare and payments for such a growing number of foreign visitors, reforms from various departments such as public security, technology, human resources and commerce are required, Li said.

"In this round of reforms, we are systematically advancing efforts to facilitate foreign investment in China, making it easier for foreigners to stay and perform business," he said.

The market's prosperity has contributed to the high-quality development of the city's trade sector. Since 2021, Yiwu's exports have maintained double-digit growth, reaching 542.06 billion yuan during the January-November period last year, a 17.4 percent year-on-year increase.