Yiwu's economy has been boosted by online livestreaming, as livestreaming platforms and e-commerce are prospering despite the fight against COVID-19.

With the emergence of new sales methods, livestreaming host has become a new profession.

From January to June this year, livestreaming hosts in Yiwu held about 253,000 livestreams, generating 19.47 billion yuan (2.88 billion) in retail sales, a year-on-year increase of 23.19 percent.

Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang province is known as the world's largest small commodity distribution center, and the Yiwu International Trade Market is home to 75,000 commercial booths and more than 2.1 million kinds of commodities.

With rich resources and burgeoning e-commerce, many local shop owners in Yiwu have been launching livestreaming events to boost sales amid the epidemic.

After two years of development, Zhejiang Dicai Arts & Crafts Co has become an industrial leader with an annual output exceeding 120 million yuan.

Zhong Yulong, director of the company, said livestreaming events can not only promote the company and their products visually, but will also allow the company to learn of real demands of buyers, which can support the transformation and upgrading of traditional industrial enterprises.

According to Zhong, the company now has 11 livestreaming rooms on different social media platforms and millions of fans. The company's e-commerce sales account for about 40 percent, with sustained growth of 10 to 30 percent every month.