Coronavirus: world’s largest market reopens its doors to ‘foreign friends’, promising ‘Yiwu will be normal soon’
- Yiwu International Trade market reopened on Tuesday, three days earlier than originally planned, with Zhejiang Textile City also now open for business
- Local governments are looking to gradually resume economic activity, but firms are still struggling with workers yet to return and logistics not yet fully functional
The world’s largest trading centre for daily consumer goods in China’s eastern manufacturing hub finally reopened its doors this week after the coronavirus outbreak, with officials reaching out to “foreign friends” that “Yiwu will be normal soon” as local governments attempt to gradually resume economic activity.
Yiwu International Trade market reopened on Tuesday, three days earlier than originally planned, largely because there have been no new confirmed cases in the Zhejiang city for around a week.
“Dear foreign friends, the fight against the coronavirus is about to enter the last stage. Yiwu will be normal soon,” said a Yiwu immigration officer in English on a video posted on the department’s social media platform.
“Please feel safe to [come] back to Yiwu and follow the instructions given by government authorities. Looking forward to seeing you all!”
On the same day, Zhejiang Textile City, one of the largest marketplaces for textile products in the city of Shaoxing, also in Zhejiang province, also opened for business, having remained closed for 18 extra days due to the virus. Around 60 per cent of shops reopened and more than 12,000 buyers visited the venue on opening day, according to a report from the official Zhejiang Daily.
