HANGZHOU, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) — As the Paris Olympics get underway, 30,000 soccer balls produced by Minsa, a Chinese sports brand based in Yiwu, East China, have arrived in Africa more than 10,000 kilometers away. Their designs feature purple elements because purple is one of the main colors of Olympic venues.

At the same time, Minsa founder Chen Shaomei was welcoming foreign customers for the first time at his store in Yiwu International Trade Market in Zhejiang Province, known as the “supermarket of the world.”

“Major events like UEFA Euro 2024 and the Olympics have ignited a global passion for football and boosted our sales. Our factory is fully booked until the end of August,” Chen said. Its products, including footballs, basketballs and volleyballs, are exported to more than 100 countries, and 90 percent of the company’s business is international.

Chen’s store is one of 75,000 in the world’s largest small-commodity wholesale market. The vastness of the market is staggering — it would take more than 15 months to visit each store for just three minutes. More than 2.1 million types of goods are distributed worldwide from the Yiwu market.

Data show that Yiwu’s foreign trade growth has outpaced that of Zhejiang Province and China. From January to June this year, Yiwu’s import and export volume reached 324.77 billion yuan (45.5 billion U.S. dollars), up 20.8 percent year-on-year. Exports alone reached 288.03 billion yuan, up 21.4 percent.

Yiwu’s increase in orders is attributed to rapid updates of independent design concepts and support for new technology platforms.

Liu Pingjuan, founder of Yiwu kitchenware brand Chuangyi Kitchenware, is one of the beneficiaries of the Chinagoods digital commerce services platform, which helps businesses reach overseas markets.

In October 2023, the world’s first major language model in the commodity trading industry and an upgraded Chinagoods AI creative services platform were introduced at Yiwu Expo. These enable Chinese videos to be converted into 36 languages ​​with a simple click after being uploaded to the platform.

“Technology advancements have expanded our market reach. Now, I often wake up in the middle of the night to find customers adding me on WeChat,” Liu said.

Yiwu business owners are not only waiting for international customers to visit their stores, but are also on a journey to expand their markets globally in the new economic climate.

Last November, the Yiwu Cultural Products Industry Association organized the 2023 Indonesia ASEAN Stationery & Gifts Fair in Jakarta, Indonesia, with the participation of more than 300 business people from Yiwu’s cultural products industry. The fair was Yiwu’s first overseas trade fair dedicated to a specific industry.

The association’s chairman, Huang Changchao, said that following the efforts launched at the end of last year to promote brands in cities with a population of over 1 million, this year the promotion efforts will be expanded to medium-sized Indonesian cities with a population of over 500,000.

“Indonesia is key to us fully opening up the Southeast Asian market, with a large population and cultural closeness to China. This makes it easier for our cultural and creative products to establish brand presence,” Huang said.

The reform also became the driving force behind the vigorous development of various market institutions in Yiwu.

In November 2006, when Zhejiang issued a document to expand Yiwu’s economic and social management authority, 131 management responsibilities were transferred to Yiwu’s county-level district. Local authorities now have the authority to issue foreign trade operator registrations and verification letters for invitations extended to foreigners applying for Chinese visas, among other processes.

Reforms in Yiwu are ongoing and include accelerating the development of new business models, improving logistics services, and innovating supply chain financial services.

“No one can appreciate the improvements in the business environment better than us business people rooted in Yiwu. Despite the challenges and bottlenecks in various sectors, we remain confident and motivated to embrace the global market,” Huang said.