Largest wholesale market Yiwu joins Alibaba-led eWTP

28 Jun '19

1 min read

Pic: Alizila

China’s Yiwu city, the world’s largest wholesale market, has become the country’s second hub in the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP), an Alibaba-led initiative that aims to lower barriers to global trade for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through e-commerce. Yiwu’s entry is part of a collaboration between Alibaba and the city’s municipal government.

The collaboration focuses on digitising trade infrastructure and developing additional trade flows for the city. Both also plan to work on innovations in trade finance, as well as establish a smart logistics hub in Yiwu, according to an Alibaba press release.

While the eWTP’s international partners are leveraging the platform to sell goods into China, Yiwu will focus on outbound trade. The city is known for its manufacturers, who make everything from toys to household items to Christmas decorations, drawing more than 500,000 merchandisers from around the world each year and exporting to more than 200 countries and regions.

Before Yiwu, Hangzhou had joined the eWTP platform. Both cities are located in China’s eastern province of Zhejiang. Global eWTP hubs include Malaysia, Belgium and Rwanda.

The majority of Yiwu’s 450,000 merchants are micro, small or medium businesses. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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