Zhejiang, a major economic province in China with 90 counties (cities, districts), has consistently relied on its county-level economies as a crucial pillar. On May 15, the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Government convened a high-level meeting in Yiwu to advance high-quality development in county-level economies. The meeting, themed "Deeply Studying and Implementing the Important Instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping, Further Summarizing and Applying the 'Yiwu Development Model,'" gathered key leaders from provincial departments and various cities and counties across Zhejiang.
What constitutes the "Yiwu Development Model"? General Secretary Xi Jinping recently emphasized in important instructions that Yiwu's small commodities have opened up vast markets and evolved into a major industry, forming the "Yiwu Development Model." This represents a successful practice of developing county-level economies by adapting to local conditions. As early as 2006, the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Government jointly issued a notice promoting the study and application of this model across the province. Two decades later, Zhejiang's county-level economies have continued to expand. According to unified GDP accounting results, Zhejiang's GDP reached 9.4545 trillion yuan in 2025, a 5.5% increase from the previous year at constant prices. During the same period, the province's total foreign trade import and export volume amounted to 5.55 trillion yuan.
At this significant 20-year milestone of promoting the "Yiwu Development Model," various regions in Zhejiang are drawing insights from this experience to devise their own solutions.
First, the answers lie in returning to Yiwu and its markets. To understand the "Yiwu Development Model," one must first focus on its origins—Yiwu, a city "built on the market." Starting from the humble beginnings of "trading chicken feathers for sugar," Yiwu has grown into the "World Capital of Small Commodities," a story well-known to the outside world. Data provides the most direct evidence: in 2025, Yiwu led all counties (cities) in China in export volume, number of market entities, and per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents. It retained the top position in the "China County Common Prosperity Index" and maintained trade relations with over 230 countries and regions. Today, Yiwu continues to explore "where to go next." At the meeting, Ye Bangrui, Deputy Secretary of the Jinhua Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Yiwu Municipal Party Committee, stated that Yiwu will take the lead in deepening reforms, steadfastly shoulder the important mission of "testing systems for the nation and exploring new paths for openness," and fully commit to building a new international trade pattern of "buying globally, selling globally, and trading globally." Behind this commitment lies a pragmatic approach: making markets more accessible, trade more convenient, and enterprises more daring, thereby amplifying Yiwu's advantages in openness. Zhu Chonglie, Secretary of the Jinhua Municipal Party Committee, also delivered a report at the meeting on "continuously advancing the 'Yiwu Development Model' to deepen and solidify, achieving a comprehensive leap to create an important growth pole for high-quality development." He emphasized "breaking through bottlenecks with reform and innovation to enhance developmental advantages."
Second, robust industries and ecosystems serve as the "hard support" for county-level economies. Beyond commerce, industry and innovation ecosystems are the foundation for stable economic growth in Zhejiang's counties. Xiaoshan, a pioneering area for Zhejiang's private economy and a key hub for manufacturing, exemplifies this. At the meeting, Sun Xudong, Member of the Standing Committee of the Hangzhou Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Xiaoshan District Party Committee, stated that Xiaoshan will adhere to the principle of "establishing, revitalizing, and strengthening the district through industry," actively shoulder the responsibility of building an advanced manufacturing cluster under the "415X" initiative, integrate into the highland for artificial intelligence innovation and development, and support strategic projects such as the International AI Pilot Base and the Global Digital Trade Expo. If Xiaoshan represents the "industrial responsibility" of a manufacturing hub, Yuyao City in Ningbo, Zhejiang—which leads all county-level cities in Zhejiang in the number of listed enterprises—focuses on enhancing the business environment and innovation ecosystem to provide stronger support for industrial development. During the exchange session, Wo Yongte, Secretary of the Yuyao Municipal Party Committee, addressed the topic of "building a first-class innovation ecosystem tailored to local conditions." He highlighted measures such as financial "investment linkage" and the secondary development of industrial land to strengthen factor supply guarantees, as well as expanding the "mobile + customized" government service model. The goal is to maintain Yuyao's business environment at the top tier in Zhejiang by the end of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. From Xiaoshan's layout of advanced manufacturing clusters to Yuyao's efforts to enhance the business environment and innovation ecosystem, a clear trend emerges in Zhejiang's county-level economic development: strengthening both industries and ecosystems.
Third, adapting to local conditions means 90 counties (cities, districts) have 90 unique approaches. Under the methodology of the "Yiwu Development Model," many regions in Zhejiang are flourishing in diverse ways. At the meeting, Wang Bo, Secretary of the Deqing County Party Committee, focused on the county's most strategic resource and standout feature—geographic information. He emphasized that over the past 15 years, Deqing has consistently treated geographic information as a "top-priority project," transforming geographic information markers into a distinctive functional level that connects the globe and drives development. In contrast, Qingtian County's development path prioritizes "unique human advantages." As a renowned hometown for overseas Chinese, Qingtian is building on its achievements—ranking fourth in GDP growth in Zhejiang in 2025 and first in high-quality development assessments among mountainous and island counties—to deeply leverage the advantages of its overseas Chinese resources. Pan Wei, Secretary of the Qingtian County Party Committee, explained in his exchange speech that Qingtian will actively utilize Yiwu's channel functions, develop supporting and extended industries, and leverage the network advantages of its 380,000 overseas Chinese spread across 146 countries and regions to fully transform the strengths of the overseas Chinese community into economic growth points. From Deqing's "painting a blueprint to the end" to Qingtian's "bridging the world through overseas Chinese," local practices demonstrate that identifying and leveraging unique advantages as the "primary variable" can activate the "full board of opportunities" for county-level development.
At the meeting, Wang Hao, Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, emphasized the need to deeply study and understand General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions, firmly establish and practice a correct view of political achievements, thoroughly implement the "Eight-Eight Strategy," deepen the practice of "tracing origins to understand thoughts and achieving practical results through实干," continuously advance the "Yiwu Development Model" to deepen and solidify, promote high-quality development in county-level economies, and always work diligently, take the lead, and courageously stand at the forefront. This will contribute greater strength to achieving "decisive progress" and率先 presenting a "vivid blueprint."
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