Yiwu Party Secretary Wang Jian said that as a preliminary effort to promote imports, Zhejiang China Commodities City Group Co was selected as the sole pilot enterprise. On Dec 25, the first import transaction of items listed on the positive list, such as toys, was completed, marking a breakthrough in accelerating import trade development. The city aims to achieve an import scale of 100 billion yuan by the end of this year and exceed 300 billion yuan by 2030.

The launch ceremony for Yiwu's innovative import trade pilot project and the first transaction under the positive list was held at Yiwu China Imported Commodities Market.

"At the ceremony, a new exhibition hall for the pilot project's goods opened. The entire hall is organized based on the 28 major categories in the positive list, featuring over 160 SKUs (stock keeping units) from the initial trial phase," said Chen Xiang, general manager of Yiwu China Commodity City Import and Export Co.

"Currently, we are considering using Commodity City as a pilot unit to advance digital regulatory platforms and test positive list imports. Once conditions are mature, more goods will be included on the list," said Li Jun.

"The new pilot's exhibition hall allows both wholesale and retail. According to pilot regulations, our company is the sole import entity. All imported goods must go through the company for Customs declarations and clearance. Once cleared, the goods are distributed at our Imported Commodities Market, where they are sold wholesale and then further distributed by our wholesalers," Chen said.

From January to November 2024, Zhejiang province achieved 493.14 billion yuan in market procurement exports, a year-on-year increase of 13.2 percent, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the national share and contributing 19.5 percent to Zhejiang's export growth.

At the same time, market procurement exports accounted for more than 80 percent of Yiwu's total exports, serving as the cornerstone of Yiwu's foreign trade and a significant growth driver for the province.

"There are pain points and challenges in traditional imports, such as improving Customs clearance efficiency," Chen said. "Through the pilot project, we have enhanced efficiency and reduced Customs clearance times. Moreover, Yiwu's role as a trade platform helps foreign high-quality imports reach a broader domestic market, smoothing the supply chain."

Wang said: "Yiwu will shoulder the mission of 'testing systems for the nation, building platforms for openness and seeking development for the region'. The focus will be on solving five key issues — the difficulty of importing daily consumer goods, insufficient digital trade capabilities of export enterprises, high costs and weak resilience of logistics channels, inefficiencies in trade settlement and limited space for new business models. By addressing these challenges, we aim to turn more reform results into tangible benefits for market entities and development dividends."

Wang added that innovative pilots like the positive list trial are part of the broader reform strategy to expand imports and enhance domestic circulation.

"By fostering a dual-cycle model, we aim to integrate imported goods into the domestic market more effectively, ultimately stimulating domestic demand and consumption," said Wang.

According to the Yiwu Bureau of Commerce, in recent years, Yiwu has resolutely promoted high-level opening-up. While maintaining high-quality export growth, it has accelerated the development of import platforms such as Yiwu Comprehensive Bonded Zone and the Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe freight trains. Relying on its market advantages, Yiwu has proactively expanded imports to meet the growing domestic demand for high-quality foreign products. From January to November 2024, the city's imports reached 71.93 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19 percent, accounting for 77.5 percent of Zhejiang's import growth. Yiwu has established five product categories, each exceeding 5 billion yuan in value, including cosmetics, health-related products and nuts. The city was expected to complete imports totaling around 80 billion yuan in 2024.

chenye@chinadaily.com.cn