China's Yiwu to launch new round of intl trade reforms

BEIJING -- The Eastern Chinese city of Yiwu, known as the "world's supermarket" and a key supplier for Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms, is set to launch a new round of international trade reforms aimed at strengthening its role in global commerce.

The State Council has approved the overall plan for deepening comprehensive international trade reforms in the city located in China's Zhejiang province, according to a circular released Wednesday.

The plan outlines a vision to promote reforms in Yiwu through further opening up, along with initiatives such as innovating market procurement trade mechanisms, promoting import trade development, enhancing the functionality of comprehensive bonded zones and strengthening cross-border e-commerce regulations, according to the circular.

Promoting Belt and Road cooperation and high-quality development of the China-Europe freight train network, the small commodity hub is slated to further contribute to advancing China's dual circulation strategy, which integrates domestic and global markets and supports efforts to build China into a strong trading nation, the circular noted.

Yiwu's robust growth is evident in its trade data. In the first ten months of the year, the city's import and export volume surged 18.3 percent year-on-year, reaching 560.16 billion yuan (about $77 billion), according to customs data.

Known as the city where "buy global, sell global" thrives, Yiwu is focusing on cross-border e-commerce and digital trade. Its Global Digital Trade Center, which leverages artificial intelligence and digital tools to enhance core trade elements, such as supply chains, logistics and market, is set to open the market section for trial operations in October 2025.

In 2011, Yiwu became the first county-level city in China to receive State Council approval for a pilot program on comprehensive international trade reform.

"This new reform initiative will bring significant opportunities for Yiwu, allowing it to optimize its trade structure and improve trade quality," said Zhu Keli, a researcher at the China Institute of New Economy.