Yiwu responds to US' tariff hike with resilience, innovation
义乌以韧性和创新应对美国加征关税
Merchants in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province responded to the additional 10 percent tariffs imposed on Chinese goods by the US administration of Donald Trump with various measures to beef up the competitiveness of their products, with some businesspeople pointing out the tariff-induced costs will be ultimately passed to consumers in the US.
针对美国唐纳德·特朗普政府对中国商品征收10%的额外关税，中国东部浙江省义乌市的商人采取了各种措施来增强其产品的竞争力，一些商人指出，关税引发的成本最终将转嫁给美国消费者。
Chinese analysts said that despite significant challenges to global free trade and multilateral trade rules posed by the US' unilateral and protectionist tariffs, China's foreign trade sector can effectively mitigate the damage caused by the US tariffs, with the resourcefulness of its entrepreneurs, the competitiveness of its products, its supply chain advantages and multi-layered support from government at all levels.
中国分析人士表示，尽管美国单边主义和保护主义关税对全球自由贸易和多边贸易规则构成重大挑战，但中国外贸部门凭借企业家的足智多谋、产品的竞争力、供应链优势和各级政府的多层次支持，能够有效减轻美国关税造成的损害。
Coping with change
应对变化
As the US' imposition of 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese goods to the US under the pretext of issues such as fentanyl went into effect, the world is zooming on Yiwu, China's export manufacturing hub.
随着美国以芬太尼等问题为借口对所有中国输美商品征收10%关税的生效，世界正在密切关注中国出口制造中心义乌。
Hong Kong-based newspaper Sing Tao Daily reported that some vendors are receiving large orders in the first days since they resumed work after the Spring Festival holidays.
香港《星岛日报》报道称，一些商贩在春节假期后复工的第一天就收到了大量订单。
Telephone interviews by the Global Times indicated that merchants in Yiwu are prepared and are generally calm as they brace for the impact of tariffs, even as some express mixed reactions.
《环球时报》的电话采访表明，义乌的商人已经做好了准备，在应对关税的影响时总体上很平静，尽管有些人表达了不同的反应。
To many merchants in the city, the tariffs came as a disappointment, but hardly a surprise. Some companies raised concerns about the impact of the US' protectionist stance and its ripple effects that could affect business in other regions, but many vowed to try to maintain their existing market share by working inwardly, such as optimizing their business structures and improving efficiency in the upper stream of the supply chain, to improve their profit margins while trying to grab new markets as alternatives.
对该市的许多商人来说，关税令人失望，但并不令人惊讶。一些公司对美国保护主义立场的影响及其可能影响其他地区业务的连锁反应表示担忧，但许多公司发誓要通过向内努力来保持现有的市场份额，例如优化业务结构和提高供应链上游的效率，以提高利润率，同时试图抓住新的市场作为替代。
They are confident in mitigating the risk through market diversification and strong customer relationships.
他们有信心通过市场多元化和强大的客户关系来降低风险。
"The US tariff increase could affect both our customers' profits and ours, especially on our more traditional product lines. However, we are actively addressing the challenge," Wang Nan, owner of Yiwu Conan Hardware Tools Trading Company, an exporter based in Yiwu, told the Global Times on Wednesday. Wang did not disclose an estimate of the impact of the tariffs on his business.
“美国加征关税可能会影响我们客户的利润和我们的利润，尤其是在我们更传统的产品线上。然而，我们正在积极应对挑战，”义乌出口商义乌柯南五金工具贸易公司的老板王楠周三告诉《环球时报》。王没有透露关税对其业务影响的估计。
"We are not lowering our prices because of the tariffs, as business relies on mutual support," Wang said.
“我们不会因为关税而降低价格，因为商业依赖于相互支持，”王说。
Wang said the tariffs pushed his company to double down on developing distinctively new products different from existing offerings. This should justify premium pricing and offset tariff-related losses, according to the seller of hardware tools.
王表示，关税促使他的公司加倍努力开发与现有产品不同的独特新产品。硬件工具卖家表示，这应该证明溢价定价是合理的，并抵消与关税相关的损失。
Another Yiwu-based exporter, Zeng Hao from Jinqi Technology Co, is more optimistic.
另一位义乌出口商、金奇科技有限公司的曾浩则更为乐观。
"Some 80 percent of our products are exported to the US, following a branding and high-end strategy. Our competitive advantage lies in our continuous design innovation, backed by the scale and supply chain strengths of Yiwu," Zeng told the Global Times, noting that the tariffs would be a driver for the emergence of highly innovative, high-profit products.
“我们大约80%的产品出口到美国，遵循品牌和高端战略。我们的竞争优势在于我们不断的设计创新，以义乌的规模和供应链优势为后盾，”曾告诉《环球时报》。他指出，关税将推动高度创新、高利润产品的出现。
Meanwhile, some merchants told the Global Times that certain exported products are essential, and minor price fluctuations in orders can be managed.
与此同时，一些商家告诉《环球时报》，某些出口产品是必不可少的，订单的小幅价格波动是可以控制的。
"Supposing demand from the US will drop slightly due to tariffs, we have other markets to fill in as many countries around the world celebrate Christmas, not just the US," Cai Qinliang, secretary general of the Yiwu Christmas Products Industry Association, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
义乌圣诞用品行业协会秘书长蔡勤良周三告诉《环球时报》：“假设美国的需求因关税而略有下降，但随着世界上许多国家都在庆祝圣诞节，而不仅仅是美国，我们还有其他市场可以填补。”
The reaction from Yiwu merchants has underlined Chinese exporters' agility, efficiency, and resilience to fast-changing market conditions including the direct and indirect shocks brought by the US' unilateral imposing of protectionist tariffs, Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
义乌商人的反应凸显了中国出口商对快速变化的市场条件的敏捷性、效率和韧性，包括美国单方面征收保护主义关税带来的直接和间接冲击，中国国际贸易协会周三告诉《环球时报》。
"Since Trump imposed tariffs during his previous presidential term, many companies have already redeployed their business and now those that still export product from China to the US are actually catering to rigid demand there," Li said
李说：“自从特朗普在上一届总统任期内征收关税以来，许多公司已经重新部署了业务，现在那些仍从中国向美国出口产品的公司实际上是在迎合美国的刚性需求。”
These advantages have ensured the robust growth of Yiwu's foreign trade. In 2024, the city's foreign trade jumped by 18.2 percent year-on-year to 668.93 billion yuan ($91.51 billion). Exports grew by 17.7 percent.
这些优势保证了义乌外贸的强劲增长。2024年，该市对外贸易同比增长18.2%，达到6689.3亿元人民币（915.1亿美元）。出口增长17.7%。
Despite the achievement, the city's commerce bureau has attached great importance to maintaining the momentum of foreign trade this year and has acted to organize local companies to attend some 50 trade shows globally, with a focus on Southeast Asia and Africa, according to a statement the bureau sent to the Global Times in January.
尽管取得了这一成就，但该市商务局今年仍高度重视保持外贸势头，并采取行动组织当地公司参加全球约50个贸易展，重点是东南亚和非洲，根据该局1月份发给《环球时报》的一份声明。
All out support
全力支持
At the recently concluded local two sessions - the annual meetings of provincial-level lawmakers and political advisors - in Zhejiang, the East China economic powerhouse where Yiwu is located, the province said it aims to largely retain its proportion in national exports, which came in at 15.3 percent in 2024, unchanged in 2025, according to a report by domestic news portal people.com.cn in January.
在义乌所在的华东经济强国浙江最近结束的地方两会（省级立法者和政治顾问的年度会议）上，该省表示，其目标是在很大程度上保持其在全国出口中的比例。据国内新闻门户网站People.com.cn 1月份报道，2024年将达到15.3%，2025年将保持不变。
In particular, the province is eyeing ramping up annual throughput at its Ningbo-Zhoushan Port to 40 million standard containers, dispatching over 2,500 China-Europe cargo freight trains in 2025, and growing its cross-border e-commerce trade value by 20 percent.
特别是，该省的目标是到2025年将宁波-舟山港的年吞吐量提高到4000万个标准集装箱，发送中欧班列超过2500列，跨境电子商务贸易额增长20%。
On top of local efforts, central government agencies are also rolling out new measures to help ward off the negative impacts of the US' tariffs.
除了地方努力，中央政府机构也在推出新措施，以帮助抵御美国关税的负面影响。
At a working meeting held from February 7-8, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) vowed to promote the improvement of foreign trade quality while stabilizing its volume, and promote the policy boosts from existing and incremental supportive measures.
在2月7日至8日召开的工作会议上，海关总署誓言要在稳外贸量的同时促进外贸提质，推动存量和增量支持措施的政策提振。
In 2024, countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative accounted for more than 50 percent of China's total foreign trade value for the first time in history, with the figure reaching 50.3 percent, a GAC official said in January.
广汽集团官员1月份表示，2024年，“一带一路”参与国占中国外贸总值的比重历史上首次超过50%，达到50.3%。
US customers to bear costs
美国客户将承担成本
Li noted that Trump's tariffs will cause more harm to the US, as they will increase inflation, slow US economic growth, and make American consumers pay the price.
李指出，特朗普的关税将对美国造成更大伤害，因为它们将加剧通货膨胀，减缓美国经济增长，并让美国消费者付出代价。
China's opposition to unilateral and protectionist tariffs imposed by the US has been clear and consistent.
中方反对美方加征单边主义和保护主义关税的立场是明确和一贯的。
Assuming the US follows through on the tariffs it announced earlier for Canada and Mexico, and if those tariffs stay in place through 2025, US consumer prices could see a one-time rise of between 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent, according to US-based financial information and analytics firm S&P Global dated on February 6.
根据美国金融信息和分析公司S&P Global 2月6日的数据，假设美国落实早些时候宣布的对加拿大和墨西哥的关税，并且如果这些关税持续到2025年，美国消费者价格可能会一次性上涨0.5%至0.7%。
On Wednesday, the US headline consumer price index in January rose by 0.5 percent from December, exceeding expectations, according to Reuters.
据路透社报道，周三，美国1月份整体消费者价格指数较12月份上涨0.5%，超出预期。
S&P Global expects that the US inflation rate could approach 3 percent by the fourth quarter of 2025.
标普全球预计，到2025年第四季度，美国通胀率可能接近3%。
