A customer chooses a dragon-shaped product in Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, on Jan 14, 2024. [Photo/VCG]

Yiwu topped the charts in online retail sales for 2023, according to the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang.

The province saw a total of 3.06 trillion yuan ($425.18 billion) in online retail sales, marking a 13.3 percent year-on-year increase. Yiwu alone achieved 271.59 billion yuan in online retail sales, claiming the top spot among all counties, cities, and districts in the province.

Additionally, Yiwu saw a surge in new e-commerce entities, with over 188,000 added in 2023, marking a nearly 50 percent increase from the previous year.

Notably, e-commerce platform Taobao saw over 100,000 new businesses from Yiwu in 2023, with a growth rate exceeding 17 percent year-on-year. These figures highlight the robust growth and significant impact of e-commerce on both stabilizing economic growth and driving consumer spending in Yiwu.

Yiwu's e-commerce sector has been a focal point of development, with efforts focused on bolstering traditional and emerging models alike.

Initiatives include establishing industry associations, enhancing cross-border e-commerce platforms, and providing support for benchmark e-commerce enterprises to further propel the industry forward.