Yiwu Small Commodity City faces threats from four sides: First, the increasing saturation of China’s manufacturing in global trade volume and the rapid development of China’s economy will result in a shift to domestic demand.
Second, rising production costs including land and labor mean that the current low-cost advantage held by China for so long is dissipating. Third, manufacturing in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta is moving to lower-cost western China and southeast Asia. Fourth is the growth of e-commerce. Faced with these challenges, Yiwu Small Commodity City has reached a developmental crossroads. Given the new environment and set of challenges, how can the manufacturing hub maintain its leading position in the sector?