Across China: China's small commodity hub keeps up with changes to create trade boom

HANGZHOU - "This crystal clock looks so nice, how much is it?" Kauthar Ding asked a shop owner in the Yiwu International Trade Market in Zhejiang Province.

After finding out the price, she used her smartphone to relay the information to a client thousands of miles away. "It's 115 yuan (about $18)," she said in Arabic.

The Palestinian merchant shook his head. "It's a bit expensive," he said, and Ding moved to the next booth.

Yiwu, China's small commodity hub, is widely known as the world's supermarket. This practice has become commonplace for those working in foreign trade since the outbreak of COVID-19.

"We used to accompany our foreign clients to order goods in person, but now we have to observe and describe the products in detail for them. Sometimes we also place orders for them," she said.

Despite being in China, the 24-year-old is basically living in a Palestine time zone, six hours behind local time.