Beads are seen on display at wholesaler Xinlilai Beads Accessories in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province on Monday. Photo: Chi Jingyi/GT

Flag and banner makers in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province, believe that US President Donald Trump will win re-election next year. The flag makers in the world's largest small commodities production hub are getting more orders for items for Trump's campaign than for any of his rivals, just like in 2016.

The orders are an informal means to predict the US presidential election, market insiders say.

A source close to Jinteng Flags Co, one of the biggest in the industry in Yiwu, told the Global Times that the company received a large amount of flag orders for Trump's second presidential campaign. The person asked not to be identified.

On 1688.com, an online retail website of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, the shop of a flag producer Wu Yuepei has sold 105 flags for Trump campaign in the past 30 days, and the flag reads "Re-elect Donald J. Trump. Keep America Great! For President of the United States 2020."

Wu sold 110,000 flags for Trump campaign during the 2016 US presidential vote, while only a few thousand were sold for Hillary Clinton, which was seen as a prediction of the US presidential election.

The orders for campaign-related products shows the different situations of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party of the US. Trump will almost be the candidate for Republicans but there's still uncertainty about the Democrats, Diao Daming, an associate professor at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Though Trump has achieved little in the diplomatic area, his chances of winning a second term are high as long as the economic performance of the US could remain upbeat by election time next year, said Huang Rihan, executive dean of the Beijing-based think tank Digital Economy.

According to media reports, even though the banner orders don't necessarily predict the outcome of the election, what's for sure is that Yiwu shows that "Made in China" is still firmly standing as a leader in the global market and showing strong resilience.

Under the pressure of the global economic downturn and trade protectionism aroused by the US, Yiwu still saw an increase in exports. 

From January to October, Yiwu's exports reached 234.697 billion yuan ($33.59 billion), up 9.4 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Yiwu government.

Yiwu's Christmas merchandise exports reached 2.23 billion yuan in the first three quarters of the year, up 22.08 percent, domestic news site bjnews.com reported, citing data from local customs.


Newspaper headline: Flag sales bode well for Trump