♪ noets ♪ yiwu is known for its wholesale market of affordable daily goods. its strong development is due to

its being 300 kilometers south of consumer giant shanghai. yiwu is the location of over 400,000 wholesale shops. they don't offer luxury goods. but they have everything necessary for the normal lives of ordinary citizens. the roughly 5,000 tons of goods that go through this city every day are distributed to the rest of china and the world. the yiwu international trade market, located in central yiwu, is the city's biggest general wholesale market. the 150 square kilometer plot of land is divided into five sections by product. it houses 50,000 stores. more than 2 million items ranging from furniture and electronic gadgets to food are

sold at affordable prices here. for buyers from around the world, the market is incredibly convenient. but yiwu is undergoing a significant change. recently, buyers seeking chinese goods have been joined by foreign merchants hoping to sell products from their own countries. they come seeking the affluent chinese demographic. and buyers from around the world.

>> yiwu is now changing from a wholesale market to a world trade fair. this episode follows the foreign merchants who have sought business opportunities here. yiwu is the starting point for the one road, one belt initiative between china and europe.

the city's gdp is 17 billion u.s. dollars. real estate prices have doubled compared to a decade ago. eveven as u.s./china trade frictions escalate, skyscrapers continue to rise. until the 1970s, yiwu was simply a small farming village. businesses that began as side income for poorer f farmers blossomed into a handicraft industry, which evolved into a huge wholesale market. many factories that were operating in the city had been moved to the suburbs amidst rising property prices and wages. but one factory maintains its old school work style. laborers here manually string together chains.

each necklace is sold at wholesale for $1. the factory encounters difficulty making sufficient profits. this footage was taken at the yiwu wholesale market in 2001. in the 2000s, yiwu came to be known as the world's wholesale location for daily necessities. at the same time, it gained a bad reputation for low cost goods considered inferior in quality. but product quality improved as china itself began to grow.

in recent years, the government has been promoting change in the manufacturing industry. using internet centered i.t. innovation, china has become able to produce world class goods with short development cycles. >> economic development has changed the lives of locals. in just ten years, the average annual income in the city has doubled as the middle class grew explosively.

product standards sought by consumers have become more demanding each year. people seek higher quality and more unusual items. since 2016, the yiwu international trade market has focusing on improving the imports area. the imports area opened in 2011 but remained vacant for some time. now it houses 400 shops from more than 70 nations. it's so popular that temporary booths are being offered. products on display are among the best from each nation. each country seeks chinese demand while hoping to appeal to buyers from all over the world

pursuing further trade opportunities. inside are numerous stores offering import goods from southeast asia, the middle east and europe. import shops from europe are of an especially large scale with a choice location. merchandise is brought in via railway from the one road, one belt initiative launched in 2014. the total import value in yiwu has since risen by 10%. one newly opened store in the fifth district sells goods imported from india. its wares include incense and clothing.

the location of the shop is not the most ideal, but the owner has long been importing goods on his own using surface mail. >> import business is very promising. yesterday, i met -- i w was invited to go to the foreign affairs depepartment in yiwu. they told me that we are very proud to have a man like you in yiwu. and we want you to have a bigger place and import more products from india. so they want somebody foreigner who are importing and doing business here. >> these import shops have been increasing. the number of shops run by african merchants has surged with the market already home to stores from over 30 african nations. china has been importing crude oil and other resources from

african nations and selling cheap consumer goods in large quantities. preferential treatment policies have been put in place. greatly reducing tariffs on imports of african goods. one african man aimed for the chance of a lifetime when he took the initiative to study chinese on his own, moving to china and becoming successful. he launched his own export coordination business which now employs 40 people and maintains annual sales of $60 million. he had h helped run his family' supermarket back home in senegal. when he came to china to procure cheaper goods, he was amazed. as he bought good all over china in areas, he felt potential in

yiwu and decided to launch a business here. >> he is rarely in his office.

he used to be a buyer, but got into temporary storage of export goods during his spare time. he assists african buyers who aren't fluent in chinese. his name is known by every african buyer in yiwu. on this day, he received a visit from one of his clients.

>> he says that he takes on these stressful tasks for the future of africa.

>> he began importiting african food two years ago and his annual sales increased by $14 mimillion. hearing of his success, some monitoring groups visit him. on this day, he was visited by a trade merchant from the ivory coast. the seller wants to importt ligt industrial goods into china.

>> he holds strong ties to yiwu city administrators, believing there are plenty of chances for success. he decides to go ahead with the deal.

>> more and more foreigners visit yiwu with the intent of starting new businesses. however, although overall sales have been rising since china's internet plus initiative was launched, the number of buyers visiting yiwu has been declining. but beyond that waits a new opportunity. >> china's online trade is speedily developing. yiwu has its own dedicated website that enables business to be cononducted from all over th world. the site gets an average 300,000 hits a day. companieies in the city can easy

open their own online shops. the website is viewed by buyers from every corner of the globe. one japanese merchant saw opportunities here and launched a company helping japanese firms with imports and exports. he attended a university in shanghai and joined an apparel-related japanese company. he then began cultivating business in china. he says it's currently the perfect timing to trade japanese goods.

>> expectations for online trade continue to rise. yet he rented a book in tth in fifth district in 2004 and opened a store. his store offers all types of merchandise from japanese manufacturers. it looks like a trade fair, offering goods from major companies to mid-sized companies that even japanese people may be unfamiliar with.

on this day, he was visited by a company aiming to start sales in china with a partnership with the prefecture. the officials hope to export lolocal delicacies s and bath s.

>> he believes japanese products have a chance in china now because the nation is focused on quality goods.

>> foreign merchants have their own passion for selling goods from their homeland. and many are determined to break into the chinese market. this man has been struggling t expand his business of exporting from the ivory coast. >> a year ago, he sent his family back to senegal. he wanted his five children, who were all born in china, to be raised in his homeland.

he now shares an apartment with several co-workers. working in a foreign country every day,y, he constantly considers what he can achieve duduring his time there.

>> the next day he was visited by a chinese man who operates a factory in a neighboring town. he hopes to move his factory to africa for its less expensive land and lower wages.

>> he has experimented with moving chinese factories to senegal. lately, he has been running water hose factories. if the deal for meter boxes goes through, it will be the second of its kind.

>> 15 years after moving to china, the country's ascent to wealth has taught him about his own country's weaknesses. he hopes to use this knowledge to sew seeds for a brighter future.

>> the yiwu imported commodities fair has been held once a year since 2012. in 2018, it was held twice for the first time. participating countries hit a record high of 100. yiwu has become a global wholesale market that is unmatched in scale. it seems to be growing into a showroom in which products from all over the world compete. attracting merchants from many countries who are seeking their fortune. ♪ >> israeli prime minister

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