An expat helps a local company sell products on a livestreaming show in Yiwu, Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The number of market entities in Yiwu, Zhejiang province recently exceeded 580,000, local media reported on April 1.

According to the municipal market supervision bureau, there are nearly 580,000 market entities operating in the city, an increase of 21.27 percent on year on year.

This year alone, there have been 13,499 newly-registered market entities, including 5,482 new enterprises and 8,017 self-employed entrepreneurs.

Since the market reopened on Feb 18, the city has seen 7,749 new entities, with a high of 1,000 new registrations in a single day, exceeding the single-day high from last year.

Although people are advised not to walk outside during the COVID-19 outbreak, they are still full of enthusiasm for entrepreneurship.

Qi Miaomiao, president of Yiwu Futu Case & Bag Co, has been busy contacting docking businesses after applying for a business certificate on Feb 28.

"We are an e-commerce enterprise that used to manufacture lots of products. As cases and bags sold well last year, we plan to expand this year, that's why I have applied for the business license and plan to set up my own factory and build my own brand," Qi said.

Although the new market entities have been affected by COVID-19, they still have high hopes for the coming year.