Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center Transforms International Commerce with Digital Innovation

The Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center has generated exceptional market momentum since its October 2025 opening, drawing merchants from around the world and transforming Yiwu's position in global commerce. On opening day alone, the center welcomed more than 130,000 visitors, maintaining an average of 71,000 global buyers daily over the following 11 days. This surge has created ripple effects throughout the local economy, with nearby hotels experiencing full occupancy for weeks and restaurants reporting doubled table turnover rates as international buyers conduct business over meals.

The center's impact reflects Yiwu's broader foreign trade growth, with total import and export value reaching RMB 631.2 billion from January to September 2025, representing a 26.3% year-on-year increase. Trade with Belt and Road partner countries grew even faster at 28.9%, accounting for 68% of the city's total trade volume. As a landmark project marking Yiwu's transformation from a small commodities hub into a digital trade powerhouse, the Global Digital Trade Center operates on a dual-engine model of "digital + trade" that is reshaping international business ecosystems.

Technological empowerment has been central to the center's success, with the World Yiwu Trade Large Model registering over 30,000 users and AI product usage surpassing one billion calls by October 2025. Thirteen AI applications now support end-to-end digitalization across design, translation, and fulfillment functions, enabling true borderless, real-time global trade. The consecutive hosting of major exhibitions like the Canton Fair and Yiwu Fair further amplified international procurement activity, with 65% of visitors coming to Yiwu for the first time and shifting from sample viewing to actual order placement.

Market performance has been particularly strong in key sectors including jewelry and accessories, creative trendy toys, drones and smart electronics, and beauty and personal care products. Yiwu's exports of mechanical and electrical products reached RMB 203 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, up 25.2% year-on-year, with smart devices showing especially robust growth. Individual success stories include entrepreneurs securing on-site orders for thousands of drones and merchants landing overseas orders exceeding RMB 500,000 within their first week of operation.

The Global Digital Trade Center represents more than physical expansion—it signifies a comprehensive upgrade in trade philosophy and operational models. Anchored by the "Digital Trade Port," it integrates platforms for AI design, smart logistics, cross-border livestreaming, and data transactions, building a digital trade system driven by end-to-end perception and intelligent decision-making. This evolution aligns with optimization of Yiwu's foreign trade structure, where exports under the market procurement trade model reached RMB 458.38 billion from January to September 2025, up 29.4% year-on-year and accounting for 82.7% of total exports.

Yiwu China Commodities City Group representatives emphasize the goal of creating a trade paradise where global merchants aspire to conduct business, transforming Yiwu from the "World's Supermarket" into the "Global Source of Digital Trade Innovation." The continued popularity of the Global Digital Trade Center demonstrates Yiwu's powerful ability to attract and convert global business opportunities through digital empowerment, signaling that the city's path to global expansion is becoming more precise, efficient, and competitive. Looking forward, Yiwu will serve not only as a hub for global order exchange but also as a source of innovative trade models, continuously providing the "Yiwu Sample" for China's high-quality trade development.