Workers package products to be transported at a logistics center in the city early this month. WANG GANG/CHINA NEWS SERVICE

Innovative initiatives

The growing international reach of Yiwu and its commodities is largely due to the innovative initiatives that have been implemented by Chinese authorities over the years, among them the opening of the Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe cargo train network, also known as the China-Europe Railway Express freight train service, according to Gholamhossein.

"First of all, the transportation cost of our goods to Teheran is reduced through the China-Europe freight train, which also reduces the purchase cost of customers," he said. "Second, compared with traditional sea transportation, the train service shortens the transportation time."

In November 2014, the first China-Europe freight train was officially launched, starting from Yiwu and ending in Madrid. A little more than a year later, in February 2016, the route connecting Yiwu with Teheran was opened. Compared with the maritime route — which went from Shanghai to Iran's Bandar Abbas port — the 10,399-kilometer train journey cut the time by 30 days.

Yiwu customs figures indicate that in 2022, the Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe freight train service has operated 1,000 trains, increasing 15.3 percent year-on-year. Since the Yiwu platform, which specializes in international freight train service, was unveiled in 2013, it has handled more than 4,410 trains carrying over 360,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of goods. Furthermore, 17 direct international railway freight lines from Yiwu to more than 50 countries and 160 cities are now in place.

In the past few years, Yiwu has tapped into the opportunities arising from the rapid development of Zhejiang's digital economy, and the city has vigorously developed a combination of livestreaming and e-commerce, with a particular focus on overseas clients.

Many businesses in Yiwu, including Gholamhossein's, have also begun to deploy overseas livestreaming with multiple languages.

In addition, foreign business owners in Yiwu have built warehouses overseas that serve as miniature markets, solving many problems related to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

So far, business owners in Yiwu have set up 166 overseas warehouses around the world, including in the Philippines, Spain, Germany and the United States.

Gholamhossein's warehouse in Iran has been developing steadily in recent years, and "the warehouse area has also been expanding", he said.

His business growth has seen his company open branches in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and the company has expanded its market share in other regions and countries, including Southeast Asia, Europe and the US.