Stories of High-Quality Development | How Yiwu keeps seizing business opportunities

Narrator: Chen Guo, Trader, District 5, Yiwu International Trade City

I have been doing foreign trade in Yiwu for nearly 20 years. People often ask me: how does Yiwu keep seizing business opportunities?

Some say the answer is low prices and a wide variety of goods. But in my view, what truly supports this "magic" is an invisible "super service system."

Take the "palm-shaped sun hat," which recently took the internet by storm, as an example. From a creative idea on overseas social media platforms to the first batch of goods being shipped worldwide, it took us just over 10 hours. Generally speaking, developing a new product requires design, making molds and printing. It takes at least a month. But in Yiwu, everything you need is within a 10-kilometer radius.

A great product needs fast delivery too. In Yiwu, customs inspection now takes place before goods are packed and shipped, which is incredibly efficient. The logistics network covers nearly the entire globe, and in many regions goods can even be delivered door-to-door, as easy as domestic shipping.

Once the goods are shipped, can the payment arrive quickly? Wang Tao, who sells small home appliances next door, knows this well. He told me that in the past, payments often wouldn't arrive for half a month after shipment. Now, using the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's cross-border RMB settlement service, the money arrives in the time it takes to have a sip of water.

So Yiwu is not just home to foreign traders, but also mold makers, logistics workers, bank managers and more. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary people perfect the smallest details. That's how something can appear from nothing, turning ideas into success. This is the source of our strength and confidence to buy and sell worldwide.