The 21st Yiwu Fair: creativity feast for small commodities

To find new business opportunities, 2,577 enterprises from all over China are busy preparing to exhibit their products at the 21st China Yiwu International Commodities Fair (Yiwu Fair), which will be held on Oct 21-25 at Yiwu International Expo Center, Zhejiang Province .

Jointly hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of China, the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province and other relevant authorities, the Yiwu Fair has become one of the largest, most influential and most productive commodities fairs in China over the past two decades.

On this year’s Yiwu Fair, the exhibitors will set up 4,500 international standard booths, covering seven industries as Hardware, Daily Necessities, Crafts, Jewelry & Accessories, Electronic & Electrical Appliances, Cultural & Sports Goods and Fabrics & Textiles, according to the Fair's organizer -- Yiwu International Commodities Fair Co., Ltd.

Yiwu, known as a goods and trade center for the manufacturing industry in eastern China, has begun using innovative and creative ideas which can be seen at the fair this year.

To keep pace with the country’s transforming economic development, the 21st Yiwu Fair will host a specially designed 3,800 square meters innovation area, which includes a total of 213 standard exhibition booths. It will provide an exhibition space for innovative and creative companies many of which hold their own independent intellectual property rights.

Different from traditional exhibition pavilions, the layout of this innovation zone is designed as a "street block" without any enclosed space. The minimalist design and the open space create a free and friendly atmosphere to draw people's attention to the leading edge technological and industrial designs.

Popular digital cultures which inspire the forefront of country's creativity like "Maker" and "Crowdfunding" have been integrated into the 21st Yiwu Fair. The exhibition platform has been built for innovation and creativity makers, and it will expand the market for creative projects in Zhejiang Province as well as the whole country.

As a global market for small commodities, Yiwu has a rich products portfolio and market resources. Innovative and creative products have a strong market potential, and the creativity makers are an important force to promote the development of innovation.

Trade and Services Comprehensive Pavilion is another highlight of the 21st Yiwu Fair. The number of the booths set up in this area has risen dramatically from 86 to 191, comparing with last year. Exhibitors of this year include leading local corporations and well-known companies from all over China and overseas, covering logistics, freight forwarding services, e-commerce, trademark registration and software development.

Up till now, regular exhibitors of Yiwu Fair as Baidu.com, Shengyibao.com, Made-in-China.com and GM Supply Chain Service has confirmed to join the exhibition, and new comers like Zhejiang Materials Industry Group, China Post and Zhubajie.com has also booked their booths in the Fair.

Crowd sourcing site Zhubajie.com has participated the China (Yiwu) International Electronic Commerce Expo this April and tasted its benefits. "We had reached cooperation intentions with more than 300 companies in the first day at the Expo," Ja Jinglan, the marketing manager of Zhubajie.com told APD, "to exhibit on the Yiwu Fair is one of the most important steps for our company to enter the market of Yiwu."

"For the first time to join the Fair, we are looking forward to make deeper communications face to face with our potential partners." Hoping the Yiwu Fair to sweeten the deal, she said: "we need to grab this precious opportunity to promote our services and to advertise our brand across a wider network. "

The Yiwu fair will not reach such an unprecedented scale this year without supports from local authorities, such as the Yiwu Municipal Bureau of Commerce, the Yiwu Customs and the Merchandise Inspection Department of Yiwu.

For instance, the import of rosewood takes a large portion of Yiwu's total imports, because of there is a manufacturing base of rosewood, Dongyang city, located closely to Yiwu in eastern China. Now, the Yiwu Municipal Bureau of Commerce is working actively with the Yiwu Customs on how to facilitate the import clearance for the rosewood.

A government staff from the investment promotion division of the Yiwu Municipal Bureau of Commerce told APD, that the Municipal Bureau of Commerce will cooperate closely with other government sectors on the personnel training. Yiwu has already trained more than 10,000 people with import and export trade skills, he said.