How the ‘world’s supermarket’ rode out Trump’s tariffs – and grew even stronger

Yiwu, one of China’s biggest export hubs, was expected to take a hit from US tariffs. Instead, it has seen trade surge

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Vendors and buyers are seen at the Yiwu International Trade Market, a vast emporium for wholesale goods often dubbed the “world’s supermarket”, in Yiwu, Zhejiang province. The city has recorded strong growth in exports this year despite the US-China trade war. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:00pm, 1 Jan 2026Updated: 10:39pm, 1 Jan 2026

Wang Nan, a hardware trader in China’s eastern city of Yiwu, expected her business to feel some pain when the US-China trade war escalated in April. “Last year, we still had many American clients, but the tariffs changed everything,” she said.

Yet, Wang’s firm not only survived a rollercoaster year – which at one point saw US tariffs soar to triple-digit levels – it has emerged even stronger. An aggressive push to find new buyers in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa paid off. In the end, her export orders rose rather than fell.

“Yiwu does global business and never lives on American business alone,” Wang said.

Similar stories have played out this year across Yiwu – a vast trading hub for wholesale goods often dubbed the “world’s supermarket” – as local exports proved remarkably resilient in the face of US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

Yiwu’s businesses were expected to feel some of the trade war’s sharpest stings. For years, the city in China’s eastern Zhejiang province sold huge volumes of cheap goods to the United States – from Christmas decorations to “Make America Great Again” hats. Despite a slight decline in recent years, nearly 15 per cent of local exports still went to America in 2024.

But in reality, Yiwu has replaced lost American sales with surprising ease. The city’s imports and exports surpassed 700 billion yuan (US$99 billion) in the first 10 months of 2025 – a year-on-year increase of 25.2 per cent and more than the total recorded for the whole of last year, according to local customs data.

How the ‘world’s supermarket’ rode out Trump’s tariffs – and grew even stronger

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Yiwu, one of China’s biggest export hubs, was expected to take a hit from US tariffs. Instead, it has seen trade surge

Yiwu, one of China’s biggest export hubs, was expected to take a hit from US tariffs. Instead, it has seen trade surge