Merchants learn about the "Yiwu Pay" platform at the Global Digital Trade Center in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 14, 2025. (Photo by Gong Xianming/Xinhua)

The Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center, hailed as the sixth-generation market of Yiwu -- the eastern Chinese city known as "the world's supermarket" -- officially opened on Tuesday, marking a significant leap from traditional trade to a fully integrated digital trade ecosystem.

As a window into China's reform and opening up and a barometer of global small commodity trade, Yiwu's market has undergone multiple rounds of transformation, evolving from a humble roadside market into a modern international trade hub. Each upgrade has closely tracked the pulse of the times and market demand. Now, it is fully embracing the digital era with the establishment of the new digital trade center.

The flagship project is equipped with cutting-edge digital infrastructure, including 10-gigabit optical networks and cross-border data transmission channels.

Spanning a construction area of 1.25 million square meters, the complex integrates five functional zones: marketplaces, office buildings, commercial districts, apartments, and a digital trade port. The marketplaces zone currently houses over 3,700 stores across eight emerging sectors, including fashion and jewelry, trendy toys, and smart equipment.

Within the center's premises, more than 3,700 new merchants can leverage stable cross-border networks to communicate and negotiate with global clients in real time. They can also seamlessly conduct live streams to showcase their products directly to overseas customers, offering an immersive "in-store" experience for buyers thousands of miles away.

Zhu Xingping, deputy general manager of the center, noted that its Chinagoods platform provides global traders one-stop services covering customs, foreign exchange, taxation, logistics, warehousing, and financing.

Sun Lingjuan, head of fashion brand Fuduolashijia, highlighted the efficiency of the "small merchant AI video creator" tool.

"Instead of memorizing scripts," she explained, "a merchant can simply speak random words like '12345' into the phone, add some text, and receive a professional multilingual product video within minutes." She also noted that the center's robust cross-border infrastructure enables seamless TikTok live streaming, "allowing us to engage with international customers online without any barriers."

To accelerate the center's digital transformation, Zhejiang China Commodities City Group Co., Ltd. forged strategic partnerships with several industry leaders in 2025.

In April, the company signed an agreement with Alibaba Group to leverage its expertise in cloud computing, big data and e-commerce ecosystems to jointly develop an AI-driven business model tailored for the small commodities sector.

In September, collaborations were forged with Manycore Tech, a leading spatial intelligence service provider, to leverage its 3D AI design solutions for industries such as home furnishings, toys, and hardware. The same month, a partnership with Tencent was established to focus on complementary strengths in end-to-end digital trade solutions and advance the market's digital infrastructure.

The launch of the Global Digital Trade Center marks a landmark step in promoting digital transformation across the entire trade chain in Zhejiang, noted a local official, adding that it also represents the latest milestone in Zhejiang's efforts to advance high-level opening up and build a strong, open economy.