A cold current economic"world supermarket"Yiwu

Mu Lihua (sound) of plastic sitting on the bench, lay languidly on the desk. She was motionless,   watching the empty aisle. Maybe there will be customers through. Mu had just eaten lunch: rice, red pepper and placed the cooking, she was hastily eaten at the desk. Mu do not want to lunch, do not want to close the shop.

Watch what is inconspicuous, they very easily be ignored, so she must be actively selling and let customers pay attention to details. She hung on the walls of the store thousands of watches, next to a one, has been placed on the ceiling. Watches are packaged with a plastic bag. "In the past, business has been very good," Mu said in a low voice, which is on her own. Perhaps in self-motivation? Precisely the time is 12:30, so far she has not sold a watch. Her shop is located in a corner, two wide aisle where the intersection. Directly across from the second floor of the elevator down. A day after thousands of people from here, they see the lights shining light in the watch, to see the edge of the desk Mu Lihua. It was after when she quickly on the table to hold his head high, eyes wide open, greeted with a smile. "You want to buy a watch?" Mu asked. In Yiwu, is the perennial business to do so. Mu has already sold several containers of cheap watches.

Western almost no one had heard of Yiwu in Zhejiang Province in eastern China. However, the 200 million people in the cities of the world economy is the transit center. Here contact with the world market, the global economy in the flow of goods here meeting places, and then re-flow all over the world.

Yiwu is China's most important business city, one of the specialized low-cost wholesale goods - is a supermarket of the supermarket Yiwu. Wholesale mall not far from the city center.

Large-scale data illustrate what Yiwu. The new wholesale shopping centers built in 2003, about 58,000 businesses and factories here to open a shop selling daily attracts tens of thousands of global buyers come to look for bargains.

In Yiwu, the export economy also follow the Silk Road era: the shuttle businessmen in the market hall, full of bargaining. Only when the container transport has been replaced by camel. Yiwu range of goods than any other cheaper places. Fly-swatter, pencils, ball cap and the Christmas tree.

A special Office of inflatable toys can be sold. Banners hung at the entrance to sharply: "small sea, a shopper's paradise." This is a very appropriate description. "Added the World Trade Organization gives us a lot of benefits," lead us to visit the city government officials of the marine products Chenxu Bing (sound) said.

However, this year, Yiwu and the situation is quite different from the past. China's exports began to slow down. 10, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced in the future will help small and medium enterprises tide over their difficulties. In the first half of this year alone, there are 67,000 companies had to close down. What happened? "Have been a time when the peak season," Mu said. A few years ago, the Golden Week began in the early autumn. Degrees after the summer recess of the foreigners bring long orders. That was one of the bustling scene.

Who would want to be in time for Christmas goods in September at the latest order, as containers arrive in Hamburg to Hong Kong at least 4 weeks. In order to complete the urgent task of suppliers, many of the factories additional night. Such prosperity has been a thing of the past. Over the years the business has not so bad as now. Mu said: "Today's turnover to reach half of last year, we are also happy."

Nick is the first to come to Yiwu, one of the foreigners. He said he had called Nikeguer Nani, but almost nobody in Yiwu, he can call up India's First Name Last Name. His business cards printed only Nick. From 20 years ago, Nick began to walk through Asia: At first he lived in Taiwan and then Hong Kong and later went to Guangzhou. From 4 years ago, he lived in Yiwu. His desk placed on a computer model, also larger than the telephone. Nick trading company commissioned by the West to find cheap goods.

"I have come to Yiwu, because here's all 10% cheaper than Guangzhou," he said. Nick has gone through those crazy years. He FCL carrying cash across the city, sometimes sitting on the edge of containers waiting for the commercial supply bicycles to transport goods.

Nick said that in the past few years, business has been very good. This year there have been a turning point. "My business has reduced by 10-20 percent," he said. RMB over the past few years vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar by 20%. In some cities, dramatically reducing the labor force. Rapid increases in wages.

Many factories in the past few years has been to shift production to Southeast Asia. But the Chinese government in the spring of this year, the strict immigration requirements. Yiwu hope that the visa requirement will be relaxed again. But other trends will continue.

Nick took a Stapler on the desk. "Two years ago, its price is 6.5 yuan," he said, "Now at least 8." In the world market, the price change has been caused by insufficient flow of goods part of the transfer took place. Nick unable to do anything: "I do not know five years after what would be the case."