Business Wave in Yiwu: From Trilateral Entrepreneurs Forum to Youth Business Programme

Business is in the DNA of Yiwu City. Recently, the world’s capital of small commodities in Zhejiang Province, China, hosted two entrepreneurial events: Trilateral Entrepreneurs Forum and Global Youth Business Programme (July-August 2024). The two events reaching participants from diverse backgrounds, from mature-age entrepreneurs to youth, have shown the dynamic business spirit in the city.

2024 Trilateral Entrepreneurs Forum held in Yiwu

The 2024 Trilateral Entrepreneurs Forum was held in Yiwu from August 9 to 10, 2024. The forum this year was co-hosted by Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat and Zhejiang Provincial Committee of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and organised by Yiwu Municipal People’s Government. Under the theme of “Charting New Frontiers in Trilateral E-Commerce Cooperation: Technological Innovation and Green Logistics”, two panel sessions centred around smart e-commerce and green logistics were held, as well as a side event themed on “Preservation and Innovative Development of Traditional Industries in China, Japan, and Republic of Korea (ROK)”. More than 180 enterprise representatives from China, Japan, and ROK attended the forum. Experts, scholars, and entrepreneurs in cross border e-commerce and logistics were invited to share experience and insights.

The forum aimed at advancing economic and trade cooperation and people-to-people exchanges among China, Japan, and ROK. The three countries have similar cultural origins, closely linked economies, and highly integrated industrial and supply chains. Nine cooperation projects in logistics, online procurement, health care, and education were showcased during the forum. Participants all saw great potential in trilateral economic and trade cooperation.

As an annual event of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, the Trilateral Entrepreneurs Forum has been held for 10 sessions in turn among the three countries since it was first held in 2013. It has received extensive attention and participation from the business communities of China, Japan, and ROK, and has played an increasingly important role in promoting regional economic integration, deepening trilateral cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and expanding more win-win business opportunities.

2024 “Run with Yiwu”-Global Youth Business Programme Held in Yiwu

The 2024 “Run with Yiwu”-Global Youth Business Programme (GYBP) was held in Yiwu from July 23 to 26, 2024. The programme this year was co-organised by Yiwu Foreign Affairs Office, Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College and Yiwu Talent Group. 31 outstanding young people from 18 countries, including Bangladesh, Fiji, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Vietnam, etc. gathered in Yiwu to learn what it takes to be successful when launching their entrepreneurial ventures.

The programme offered global youths a variety of activities, such as lectures and workshops in international trade, market procurement, e-commerce, and live streaming, champion buyers contest, entrepreneurship salon, as well as cultural trips to Yiwu’s beautiful countryside. During the four-day training, the trainees not only learned hands-on knowledge, honed their business skills, but also found business opportunities and made new friends.

Launched in April 2018, GYBP has so far completed 11 sessions, providing training for over 300 innovative young talents from all over the world and serving as a platform for entrepreneurship training, resource sharing, and international people-to-people exchanges.