Student Journalists Track Foreign Entrepreneurs Powering Yiwu’s Global Trade

 

By Zhu Bingqi, Wang Yuzhu, Deng Guohong

Translated by Guo Yishun

Carrying notebooks and recorders, student journalists from the School of Journalism and Communication reported across Yiwu from December 5 to 7, listening to foreign shop owners, traders and restaurant operators describe how they built lives and businesses in China’s largest small-commodities market.

The reporting trip, led by instructor Lin Yan, focused on the everyday experiences of international entrepreneurs as Yiwu deepens its role in global trade.

More than 8,300 foreign nationals from 123 countries and regions hold work permits in Yiwu, according to local data. Many operate trading companies, retail stores and food businesses that serve both overseas buyers and local customers.

The students visited the China-Africa Building, a newly opened hub for Sino-African commerce that brings together national pavilions, exhibition spaces and a construction-materials market aimed at African infrastructure demand.

Adama, head of Guinea’s pavilion, said the site functions as both a place to do business and a way to introduce visitors to his country. After studying in Zhejiang, he and his cousin now run a trading company from an office inside the building.

Beyond wholesale trade, the team met foreign entrepreneurs running restaurants, supermarkets and service businesses that have become gathering places for Yiwu’s international community.

Syrian trader Xiao Sa (Chinese nickname), who opened the city’s first 24-hour import supermarket in 2013, said safety and local support were key reasons he chose to stay. His later restaurant venture now attracts both foreign merchants and Chinese customers.

The students also visited Jimingshan Community, known locally as the “United Nations Community,” where language classes help foreign residents adapt to life in Yiwu and assist Chinese traders working with overseas partners.

The reporting shows how global trade in Yiwu unfolds not only through contracts and shipments, but through daily conversations, shared meals and long-term settlement.