Opening Up Yiwu, Embracing New Development Opportunities

On February 6, the second working day of the Lunar New Year, a mobilization and deployment meeting for deepening the comprehensive reform of international trade in Yiwu and accelerating the construction of the Sino-Europe Train (China Railway Express) marshalling center was held in Yiwu. The meeting thoroughly interpreted policy documents such as the "Implementation Plan for Deepening the Comprehensive Reform of International Trade in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province (2025-2027)" and the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Construction of the Sino-Europe Train Marshalling Center." Officials from the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Provincial Department of Transport, Provincial Department of Commerce, Jinhua City, and Yixinou Trade Service Group Co., Ltd. made commitments and statements.

At the end of last year, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "Overall Plan for Deepening the Comprehensive Reform of International Trade in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province," marking the beginning of a new round of international trade reforms in Yiwu. In practical terms, how will Yiwu respond to this new round of international trade reforms? From this meeting, we can glimpse Yiwu's "answering strategy."

Exploring New Paths Again

The construction of the first phase of the Yiwu (Suxi) International Hub Port is in full swing, the construction of the Global Digital Trade Center project is in high gear, and Sino-Europe Trains are constantly coming and going... At the beginning of the new year, walking through the land of Yiwu, one can see scenes of fervent construction and bustling freight transportation everywhere, outlining the new trade landscape of this "world supermarket" for the coming year.

Chasing the Blue Ocean

Amidst the intensifying global economic competition, Yiwu's focus is not only on "sharing the pie" but also on "baking the pie." Therefore, it is particularly important to seek new breakthroughs and cultivate and strengthen new drivers of growth.

Previously, at a press conference on deepening the comprehensive reform of international trade in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, a relevant official from the Provincial Development and Reform Commission introduced that the previous round of reforms emphasized export trade, mainly addressing the issue of "selling globally." However, from the perspective of import and export ratios, Yiwu's imports are roughly one-tenth of its exports, necessitating further deepening reforms in the import sector. As such, the new round of reforms will focus on accelerating breakthroughs in importing products from around the world.

How can Yiwu be supported in its acceleration towards "buying globally"? "Fully support Yiwu in implementing the positive list management system for imported consumer goods" and "take the lead in establishing parallel import business for home appliances" were the "strokes" of reform mentioned by relevant officials from the Provincial Department of Commerce at the deployment meeting.

New industries represented by smart equipment and new digital trade models represented by cross-border e-commerce are also new breakthroughs for the Yiwu market.

Currently, to the east of the fifth district of Yiwu International Trade City, a Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center covering an area of over 560 mu (approximately 37 hectares) and with a building area exceeding 1.25 million square meters is rising. As the core landmark project of Yiwu's sixth-generation market construction, the Global Digital Trade Center revolves around three main lines: new trade, new landmark, and new market. It layouts five functional areas: market, business offices, commercial streets, apartments, and a digital brain. The market and apartment areas are scheduled to open in October 2025.