A foreign buyer (right) browses stuffed toys at a store in Yiwu, Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: Yiwu Fabu]

Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang province, the world's largest small commodities supermarket, saw its foreign trade grow 47.8 percent year-on-year to 73.76 billion yuan ($11.58 billion) in the first two months of 2022, according to the local customs office.

The county-level city's foreign trade accounted for 10.2 percent of the province's total. Purchases from overseas, most of which are being made online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, remain a major contributor to Yiwu's export growth.

Africa was Yiwu's biggest trade partner in January and February with a total of 13.29 billion yuan in imports and exports, followed by the United States and the European Union.

Trade between Yiwu and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative was valued at 30.45 billion yuan in the first two months, a year-on-year increase of 40.5 percent.