Editor's note: Lin G. is a CGTN economic commentator. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of CGTN.

Much has been written about China's development through the lens of national strategies, industrial policies and long-term planning. Often, less attention is paid to another force that has shaped the country's transformation: the ability of local communities and grassroots entrepreneurs to identify opportunities, respond to market demand and build thriving local economies.

The story of a small town named Yiwu offers a vivid example.

Located in central Zhejiang Province, Yiwu lacks many of the advantages commonly associated with economic success: It is neither a coastal city nor a border trade hub. It lacks significant natural resources. It was not built upon a strong industrial base, nor did it benefit from large inflows of foreign investment.

And yet today, Yiwu has become the world's largest wholesale market for small commodities. What began as a local marketplace now brings together more than 1.26 million market entities and over 2.1 million products, serving buyers from more than 230 countries and regions. From festive decorations and toys to household essentials and sporting goods, countless products used by consumers worldwide pass through Yiwu's vast marketplace every year. 

The rise of Yiwu offers a perspective on China's development that is often overlooked abroad. Its transformation did not begin with strategic mega projects. 

In the early 1980s, it was a poor inland county with few economic opportunities. What it did have, however, was intense survival-driven entrepreneurship.

By the 1990s, in the absence of large firms or significant external investment, local households and small traders were expanding small-scale, flexible trading activities. Family-run workshops and informal trading networks gradually emerged, each responding directly to shifting and often uncertain market demand. Business decisions were rarely based on long-term planning; they were shaped by immediate necessity and continuous experimentation.

Over time, this fragmented and improvised activity began to cluster, eventually drawing the attention of regional governments. On April 30, 2006, the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Government issued a notice on learning and promoting the development experience of Yiwu.

Some of the most transformative ideas do not originate in conference rooms or policy documents. They are often generated in laboratories, workshops, marketplaces and within small firms that are directly engaged with real-world problems. Strategic guidance remains essential. But equally important is the ability of institutions to adapt to bottom-up innovation. As China enters a new stage of growth characterized by rapid technological change and widespread application of artificial intelligence (AI), Yiwu has once again provided a compelling contemporary example.

As a global wholesale hub, Yiwu has in recent years been further strengthened by digital transformation. Many local merchants are using AI-powered digital avatars as part of their daily business operations. These traders are dealing with customers across dozens of languages. It is simply not realistic to hire dozens of professionals who combine multilingual fluency with the practical business knowledge required. As a result, digital avatars have become the best solution.

Observing how market participants were already relying on digital tools, local governments introduced supporting infrastructure, including the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center, to better serve and scale these emerging business practices.

In this sense, the sequence is important. It is market behavior pushing institutional adaptation.

Twenty years after the concept of the "Yiwu Development Experience" was first articulated, its significance extends far beyond a single city.

It reminds governments that effective governance often involves creating space for experimentation rather than prescribing every outcome. And it reminds societies that ordinary people, when empowered to innovate and pursue opportunities, can become powerful drivers of economic transformation.

For the international community, Yiwu offers another important lesson.

There is no single formula for development. Every country, region, and community must find its own path based on its own realities. What makes Yiwu remarkable is not merely its commercial success but the fact that it began with very few natural or structural advantages and no special preferential policies, yet transformed itself through initiative, entrepreneurship, and adaptability.