As the Paris 2024 Olympic Games draw near, Yiwu, the world's largest wholesale market for small commodities located in east China's Zhejiang Province, has seen a significant surge in exports of sporting goods, with an increase of over 45 percent in the first four months of this year.
In the same period, China's overall exports rose by 4.9 percent year-on-year to 7.81 trillion yuan (over 1.08 trillion U.S. dollars). Notably, exports of sporting goods increased by 13 percent, alongside a significant growth in sectors such as shipbuilding, electric vehicles, and construction machinery.
Yiwu is renowned for its high-quality, affordable products. With the Paris Olympic Games on the horizon, the city is attracting more foreign buyers for its sports products thanks to the anticipated global exposure and a robust export performance that underscores its growing market presence.
"From March to April this year, we've experienced a consistent rise in orders, shipping over three containers to Western nations such as France and Germany," said Zhu Fangzhou, a manager at a local sports shop.
In Yiwu International Trade City, home to more than 600 sports goods stores, one merchant specializing in ball sports-related products reported exports worth more than one million yuan (over 138,000 U.S. dollars) in just two months.
"Our foreign trade enterprises have effectively capitalized on opportunities from major sports events like the Olympic Games and the UEFA European Football Championship. In the first four months alone, exports of sporting goods from Yiwu increased by 45.6 percent," said Lyu Daliang, director of Statistics and Analysis at the General Administration of Customs.
Yiwu sees significant surge in sporting goods exports ahead of Paris 2024 Olympic Games
A record number of Chinese exhibitors are showcasing innovations at EVIS 2025, running from April 21-23 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, signaling China's strong push to expand its global electric vehicle (EV) presence.
Latest EV technology is taking center stage at this year's summit, with a notable surge in Chinese participation. Their offerings, including electric vehicles, charging stations, and even flying cars, have emerged as key attractions, drawing significant attention from attendees.
Chinese EVs are earning praise for their smart features, extended range, and enhanced safety, adding to an already strong showing at the event.
"The exhibition is growing year by year and the active participation from China is increasing. So for this edition we have more than 100 partners and exhibitors in the show. We have more than 15 Chinese exhibiting companies and the numbers are growing year by year because also of the relation between China and UAE and because of China's manufacturing is advanced," said Hesham Al Bahri, Executive Director of Nirvana MICE, official organizer of the event.
"We chose the Middle Eastern market not only because of its promising future prospects, but also because of its strategic reach into Europe and Africa," said Lu Fan, CEO of a Shenzhen-based technology company.
"The collaboration between the UAE and China has always been there, it is a strategic collaboration: oil and gas, manufacturing, construction and also in the EV business. And we have seen a major uptake in terms of the EV cars that have been imported from China. We see that the quality, the range of all those EV cars are excellent, and there has been a very big uptake in the country," said Sharif Al Olama, Undersecretary for Energy and Petroleum Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates.
China takes center stage at EVIS 2025 in Abu Dhabi with record exhibitor turnout
China takes center stage at EVIS 2025 in Abu Dhabi with record exhibitor turnout
