Since its official opening on October 14, 2025, the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center (the 6th Yiwu Market) has continued to draw merchants from around the world, maintaining exceptionally strong market momentum. On its opening day alone, the center welcomed more than 130,000 visitors, and over the following 11 days, it received an average of 71,000 global buyers daily.
This surge of activity quickly spread to nearby businesses. Wang Lu, front desk manager of a hotel about one kilometer from the Global Digital Trade Center, revealed: "Rooms have been fully booked every night for two straight weeks after the opening. Reservations must now be made at least a week in advance, and many overseas buyers have extended their stays until after the Canton Fair." Restaurants offering international cuisines also experienced what they called a "table turnover frenzy." Abdul, owner of a Middle Eastern restaurant, shared: "Our usual dinner turnover rate was about 1.5 times per night, but now it's over 3! Many buyers discuss orders while eating barbecue, with product images still glowing on their tablets."
This bustling scene mirrors Yiwu's overall foreign trade growth. From January to September 2025, Yiwu's total import and export value reached RMB 631.2 billion, up 26.3% year-on-year. Trade with Belt and Road partner countries rose 28.9%, accounting for 68% of the city's total trade.
As a landmark project marking Yiwu's transformation from a small commodities hub into a digital trade powerhouse, the Global Digital Trade Center is reshaping the international business ecosystem through its dual-engine model of "digital + trade." Since its opening, the center has kept market enthusiasm high with large-scale events such as drone light shows, global music festivals, and the AI + Market Digital Trade Summit. The technological empowerment behind these activities has already shown impressive results. As of October 2025, the World Yiwu Trade Large Model had registered over 30,000 users, with AI product usage surpassing one billion calls. Thirteen AI applications now support end-to-end digitalization across design, translation, fulfillment, and other functions.
The consecutive hosting of the Canton Fair and Yiwu Fair brought another wave of international procurement activity. The 138th Canton Fair attracted nearly 240,000 overseas buyers from 223 countries and regions — a 6.8% increase over the previous session — with particularly strong growth among buyers from the EU, Middle East, United States, and South America. Among these, 65% were visiting Yiwu for the first time, shifting from "sample viewing at the Canton Fair" to "placing orders in Yiwu." Transactions were especially active in sectors such as jewelry and accessories, fashion collectibles, drones, and cosmetics.
Among the market's eight key industries, jewelry and accessories, creative trendy toys, drones and smart electronics, and beauty and personal care products emerged as the main drivers of order growth. In the first three quarters of 2025, Yiwu's exports of mechanical and electrical products reached RMB 203 billion, up 25.2% year-on-year, with particularly strong performance in smart devices sector. For example, Fang Yifan, a post-2000s entrepreneur, received an on-site order for 3,000 drones from a Jordanian client during a matchmaking event. Several jewelry and cosmetics merchants secured overseas orders exceeding RMB 500,000 within their first week of opening.
The Global Digital Trade Center represents not just an expansion of physical space, but 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, intelligent decision-making, and ecosystem collaboration. This evolution aligns with the optimization of Yiwu's foreign trade structure. From January to September 2025, exports under the market procurement trade model reached RMB 458.38 billion, up 29.4% year-on-year, accounting for 82.7% of the city's total exports.
A representative of the Yiwu China Commodities City Group stated: "Our goal is to make this a trade paradise where global merchants aspire to come — transforming Yiwu from the 'World's Supermarket' into the 'Global Source of Digital Trade Innovation.'"
From the hand drum to the digital cloud platform, Yiwu has always ridden the waves of the times. The continued popularity of the Global Digital Trade Center demonstrates its powerful ability to attract and convert global business opportunities. It signals to the world that Yiwu's path to global expansion is becoming more precise, efficient, and competitive through digital empowerment. Looking ahead, 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.
