The Zhejiang International Electronic Commerce Expo 2025 is underway in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province, running from Saturday to Monday. For a long time, this city has been considered a barometer of China's exports. A report from Yiwu Fabu, the city's official social media account, indicates a surge in cross-border e-commerce transactions, with a robust year-on-year increase of 16.29 percent in the first five months of the year. This underscores the expanding potential of cross-border e-commerce. 

At a time when global economic growth is sluggish and some major economies are adopting trade protectionist policies, which have disrupted global trade networks, the question arises: How has Yiwu's cross-border e-commerce managed to achieve double-digit growth in foreign trade despite the increased uncertainty? This question can be explored from various angles.

First, Yiwu is often referred to as the world's largest small commodity wholesale market, with a robust foundation in international trade. According to a report by People's Daily in July 2024, Yiwu is home to more than 2.1 million types of products across 26 major categories, supporting 32 million workers and 2.1 million businesses. It conducts trade with more than 200 countries and regions, drawing 15,000 foreign merchants who are based there for long-term, alongside more than 8,000 foreign investment entities. The Yiwu International Trade City sees average daily foot traffic of 200,000 people.

Over the decades, Yiwu has consistently strengthened its foundation in foreign trade, thereby enhancing its resilience in the face of external economic uncertainties.

Second, Yiwu's advantages in products and logistics have attracted mainstream domestic and international e-commerce platforms to establish regional service centers and warehouses in the city, thereby enriching the development of Yiwu's cross-border e-commerce infrastructure.

According to CCTV News, the number of market entities in Yiwu exceeded 1 million in 2023, with 175,700 new e-commerce entities established, up 48.33 percent year-on-year. The total number of e-commerce entities reached approximately 600,000, with more than one-third engaging in cross-border business. An article from the local commerce bureau in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, in February 2025 indicated that the number of cross-border e-commerce entities in Yiwu had surpassed 260,000.

Third, through cross-border e-commerce, Yiwu's merchants are continuously expanding into new markets and exploring innovative business models. According to Yiwu Fabu, this year's expo incorporated a "Silk Road e-commerce" section, which attracted significant interest from participants. This part of the expo displayed leading global e-commerce platforms, including Amazon and Alibaba, each demonstrating their business services and core competencies. This format created a dynamic atmosphere that was conducive to business discussions and negotiations.

In the face of escalating trade protectionism on the global stage, Yiwu's merchants have become acutely aware of the increasing uncertainties in overseas markets. In response, they have been proactively expanding their cross-border e-commerce operations, utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology to explore emerging markets and enhance their resilience against risks. This has led to the development of innovative offerings such as AI-enhanced translation for short videos.

Yiwu serves as a prism through which the broader development of cross-border e-commerce in China can be observed. In 2024, China's cross-border e-commerce trade reached a total of 2.63 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.8 percent.

Certainly, the journey of China's cross-border e-commerce is not without its challenges, and the future may hold its share of difficulties and setbacks. Nonetheless, the undeniable double-digit growth attests to the dynamism of Yiwu's cross-border e-commerce. By analyzing this phenomenon, we can see that Yiwu not only highlights the dynamic potential within international trade but also demonstrates how to explore new opportunities through innovative technologies, business models, and cross-border e-commerce strategies in the face of increasing global uncertainties.