From a small, little-known city to the world's biggest small commodities wholesale market, with exports valued at US$70 billion in 2023, Yiwu's rapid rise has been truly remarkable. This success has its origins in an initiative launched by Xi Jinping in June 2003, when he was Zhejiang provincial Party secretary. Since becoming Chinese president, Xi has continued to show a keen personal interest in Yiwu, visiting the city and its famous wholesale market on many occasions.