Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center Attracts Massive Global Buyer Rush, Signaling Digital Trade Transformation

The Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center, which opened on October 14, 2025, has maintained exceptionally strong market momentum, drawing merchants from around the world in numbers that demonstrate the growing importance of digital trade infrastructure. On its opening day alone, the center welcomed more than 130,000 visitors, with an average of 71,000 global buyers daily over the following 11 days, indicating robust international interest in China's evolving trade capabilities.

This surge of activity has created significant economic spillover effects throughout the Yiwu region. Wang Lu, front desk manager of a hotel approximately one kilometer from the Global Digital Trade Center, reported that rooms have been fully booked every night for two straight weeks following the opening, with reservations now requiring at least one week's advance notice. Many overseas buyers have extended their stays until after the Canton Fair, suggesting coordinated business planning between major trade events.

Local businesses are experiencing unprecedented demand, with restaurants offering international cuisines reporting what they describe as a table turnover frenzy. Abdul, owner of a Middle Eastern restaurant, noted that his establishment's dinner turnover rate has doubled from 1.5 times per night to over 3 times, with buyers frequently conducting business discussions while dining. Li Na, manager of a coffee shop near Futian Market, observed that foreign buyers consistently carry translation devices and use her counter as a temporary negotiation table, highlighting the integration of technology into traditional business practices.

The bustling scene reflects Yiwu's broader foreign trade growth trajectory. From January to September 2025, Yiwu's total import and export value reached RMB 631.2 billion, representing a 26.3% year-on-year increase. Particularly noteworthy is the 28.9% growth in trade with Belt and Road partner countries, which now accounts for 68% of the city's total trade, indicating strategic alignment with China's international economic initiatives.

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 plus trade that is reshaping the international business ecosystem. The center has maintained market enthusiasm through large-scale events including drone light shows, global music festivals, and the AI + Market Digital Trade Summit available at https://www.yiwu.gov.cn.

The technological infrastructure supporting these activities has demonstrated impressive adoption metrics. 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 critical business functions, enabling what center representatives describe as borderless, real-time global trade.

The consecutive hosting of the Canton Fair and Yiwu Fair brought additional international procurement activity to the Global Digital Trade Center. The 138th Canton Fair attracted nearly 240,000 overseas buyers from 223 countries and regions, representing a 6.8% increase over the previous session, with particularly strong growth among buyers from the EU, Middle East, United States, and South America. Significantly, 65% of these buyers were visiting Yiwu for the first time, shifting from sample viewing at the Canton Fair to placing orders in Yiwu.

Transaction activity has been especially robust in sectors including jewelry and accessories, fashion collectibles, drones, and cosmetics. A buyer from Yemen commented that Yiwu's products not only demonstrate innovation and responsiveness but also perfectly meet the global market's demand for small-batch, quick-turnaround orders, reflecting the supply chain flexibility required in contemporary international trade.

Among the market's eight key industries, jewelry and accessories, creative trendy toys, drones and smart electronics, and beauty and personal care products have 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 the smart devices sector detailed at https://www.customs.gov.cn.

Individual success stories illustrate the center's impact. Fang Yifan, a post-2000s entrepreneur, received an on-site order for 3,000 drones from a Jordanian client during a matchmaking event, while several jewelry and cosmetics merchants secured overseas orders exceeding RMB 500,000 within their first week of opening. While offline negotiations remain vibrant, tools such as cross-border livestreaming and digital avatar shopping assistants are accelerating the transformation from Made in China to Branded in China.

The Global Digital Trade Center represents not merely physical expansion 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 that their goal is to transform Yiwu from the World's Supermarket into the Global Source of Digital Trade Innovation, creating a trade paradise where global merchants aspire to conduct business.

The continued popularity of the Global Digital Trade Center demonstrates Yiwu's powerful ability to attract and convert global business opportunities, signaling that the city'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 what industry observers call the Yiwu Sample for China's high-quality trade development.