The small city of Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang province, known as the world's capital of small commodities, has become a global trading powerhouse. Its foreign trade hit a record in 2025 and the city is pushing ahead with industrial upgrading, trade facilitation and a global brand strategy.

The city's imports and exports totaled 836.5 billion yuan ($123.62 billion) in 2025, up 25.1 percent from 2024, marking the first time the figure has exceeded 800 billion yuan, according to local customs data.

That momentum carried on into 2026. In the first quarter, Yiwu's foreign trade rose 25 percent year-on-year to 209.7 billion yuan, a record high.

During the first quarter, Yiwu engaged in trade with more than 220 countries and regions. Notably, trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations surged by 68.3 percent, making it the fastest-growing market. Exports to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 147.4 billion yuan, an increase of 29.8 percent. Also, trade with Africa rose by 47.3 percent, totaling 41 billion yuan.

Long before the FIFA World Cup 2026 kicked off, orders for fan merchandise flooded into Yiwu. As a super factory for global sporting goods, made-in-Yiwu commodities capture about 70 percent of the market for World Cup-related merchandise, from footballs, fan apparel and small flags to team-themed glasses, hats, wigs, nail art and insulated cups.

"In the past, we only made what customers asked for. Now we actively anticipate market demand," said Chen Shaomei, a veteran trader who has witnessed five World Cup cycles. His company's self-designed commemorative footballs have become best-sellers, with repeat customers requesting them.

Another supplier, Wen Congjian, designed his own team jerseys and filed for overseas design patents ahead of the tournament — more than 40 patents for this World Cup alone. With patent protection, his products command a premium of up to 20 percent.

Some merchants are also exploring niche segments such as creative products, pet jerseys and baby-friendly sportswear, moving away from a pure volume-based model to higher value-added goods.

Since June 2025, Wen has stocked, produced and fulfilled orders. The volume of orders increased month by month, reaching its peak in January. By March, most orders had been shipped and delivered.

At Yiwu Aokai Sports Goods, production lines are running at full capacity. "We have received a large number of World Cup orders. For this football event alone, we have exported nearly 150,000 pieces to Peru," said Wu Xiaoming, the company's general manager.

Thanks to Yiwu's efficient sea-rail links, more made-in-Yiwu products are reaching stadiums worldwide.

Customs data show that Yiwu's exports of sports goods and equipment exceeded 2.34 billion yuan in January-February, up 38.5 percent year-on-year, including 550 million yuan to the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Logistics innovation

The city has made significant efforts to address a long-standing logistics challenge, benefiting tens of thousands of traders in Yiwu. More than half of its market-procurement export containers are consolidated loads. Under the traditional load-then-inspect model, a single flagged shipment would force the entire container to be unloaded and delayed.

Yiwu pioneered an "inspect before loading" model, setting up a supervised consolidation warehouse where loose cargo can be stored, declared individually, inspected and then loaded.

"In the past, a container might hold goods from a dozen clients. If one was selected for inspection, the whole box had to be opened, often missing the shipping deadline and incurring penalty risks," said Cheng Keyuan, chairman of Zhejiang Yinghe International Logistics.
In early 2026, Yiwu added a sea-rail intermodal link to the system. Under this model, inspection clearance information is transmitted in real time to Ningbo Zhoushan Port. Companies can complete preclearance procedures in advance. Goods can move from train to vessel almost immediately, saving two to three days compared with conventional sea freight, according to an official from Yiwu Customs.

Cross-border e-commerce export efficiency has improved by about 30 percent, with costs down by about 15 percent. By April 2026, the value of goods processed under the model had surpassed 1.33 billion yuan — exceeding the total for all of 2025.

Though Yiwu has no seaport or river port, rail links have turned it into a major inland hub. The Yiwu (Suxi) International Hub Port, a part of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, brings port functions inland. Goods can be declared, inspected and released there as if they had reached the coastal megaport, cutting clearance times by 50 percent and logistics costs by 10-20 percent compared with road transport.

The hub now runs about six pairs of sea-rail intermodal trains daily, using manned and unmanned flatbed vehicles to create a fully intelligent operating model. By June 2, the Yiwu (Suxi) International Hub Port had achieved a cumulative container throughput of over 200,000 twenty-foot equivalent units since its opening on June 27, 2025.

The China-Europe Railway Express in the city is also expanding. In 2025, Jinhua (Yiwu) was designated a national China-Europe freight train consolidation center. Yiwu's trains have so far made more than 8,800 trips, reaching over 160 cities across more than 50 countries, with four trains departing daily.

In April 2026, the first Yiwu-Moscow dual-hub express train, loaded with 110 TEUs of daily necessities, arrived at Moscow's Bely Rast station in just 15 days, offering a competitive logistics option for Sino-Russian trade.