Yiwu, September 10, 2026 — Despite a global backdrop of trade frictions and order diversion to Southeast Asia, Yiwu posted import-export value of RMB 486.42 billion in the first half of 2026, up 19.9 percent year on year, according to local data cited by Southern Weekly.
Yiwu's competitive advantage is no longer simply low prices. Instead, the city has built a hard-to-replicate full-chain ecosystem based on flexible supply, policy innovation and diversified global procurement networks.
The international trade city hosts 47 industries and more than 10 million SKUs, with surrounding factories able to deliver samples in as little as two days and accept small-batch, mixed-SKU orders — a capability few overseas factories can match.
More than 80 percent of Yiwu's exports use the "market procurement trade" model, a national pilot programme tailored for multi-category, small-batch, multi-batch shipments. Combined with the Yixin-Europe freight train and Ningbo port, Yiwu now offers both land and sea channels to Europe, Central Asia and Russia, significantly boosting resilience.
