01

TOP10 Industry News

According to customs statistics, in the first three quarters of this year, China's goods trade exports reached 19.95 trillion yuan, up by 7.1% year-on-year. Exports to ASEAN reached 3.5 trillion yuan, up by 15.8% year-on-year. Exports to the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative reached 10.07 trillion yuan, up 12.4% year-on-year.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first three quarters, net exports of goods and services contributed 29.0% to economic growth, driving GDP growth by 1.5 percentage points. In the third quarter, net exports of goods and services contributed 24.5% to economic growth, driving GDP growth by 1.2 percentage points.

On October 30, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce answered questions from reporters regarding the joint arrangements for the China-Us economic and trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur. The main aspects of the consensus reached during this consultation are as follows: The US side will lift the 10% so-called "fentanyl tariff" imposed on Chinese goods. The 24% equivalent tariff imposed on Chinese goods will remain suspended for another year. China will adjust its countermeasures accordingly. (On November 5th, the Tariff Commission of The State Council issued an announcement, stating that the 24% additional tariff rate imposed on the US will remain suspended for another year.) The 10% tariff rate imposed on the United States will be retained and the adjustment will take effect at 13:01 on November 10.

The two sides also reached consensus on issues such as fentanyl anti-drug cooperation, expanding agricultural product trade, and handling individual cases of related enterprises. Both sides further confirmed the outcomes of the Madrid Economic and Trade consultations. The US side made positive commitments in areas such as investment, and China will properly resolve issues related to TikTok with the US side.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing from October 20 to 23, 2025. The plenary session deliberated and adopted the "Proposal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development". The "Proposal" consists of 15 parts and 61 articles, divided into three major sections. The second section has deployed the strategic tasks and major measures for the "15th Five-Year Plan" period by field. This includes "Expanding high-level opening up to the outside world and creating a new situation of win-win cooperation", "building a strong domestic market and accelerating the formation of a new development pattern", "Accelerating high-level self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology and leading the development of new quality productive forces", "building a modern industrial system and consolidating and strengthening the foundation of the real economy", etc. Clarify the thinking and key tasks in key areas such as opening up to the outside world, the domestic market, scientific and technological innovation, industrial development, and the economic system.

On October 24, 2025, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held a press conference to introduce and interpret the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Source: CCTV News

On October 30, the Ministry of Commerce of China issued the "Implementation Opinions on Expanding Green Trade" (referred to as the "Implementation Opinions"), which is the first special policy document in the field of green trade. It focuses on the weak links in the development of China's green trade and formulates targeted measures. The opinions focus on four major directions: enhancing the green and low-carbon development capabilities of foreign trade enterprises, expanding the import and export of green and low-carbon related products and technologies, creating a favorable international environment for the development of green trade, and establishing and improving the support and guarantee system for green trade. Sixteen specific measures are put forward.

The Ministry of Commerce's Implementation Opinions on Expanding Green Trade. Source: Yiwu Index

On the morning of October 14th, the core landmark project of the sixth-generation market in Yiwu - Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center - officially opened. This marks the completion of a new round of iteration and upgrading for the Yiwu Market, initiating a new process of leaping from traditional trade models to digital trade ecosystems, and forging ahead towards building a global trade benchmark that is digital, international, modern and low-carbon.

The Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center project was launched in 2022, with a construction area of 1.25 million square meters. The project centers on three main lines: new trade, new markets, and new landmarks, comprehensively promoting the upgrading of the four core elements of "people, goods, places, and chains", and laying out five functional sections: markets, business office buildings, commercial streets, apartments, and digital trade ports. Among them, the market section has a construction area of 410,000 square meters and has already attracted merchants from 8 new industries including fashion jewelry, creative trendy toys, and intelligent equipment.

The Global Digital Trade Center officially opened. Image source: Yiwu Index

The latest statistics from Yiwu Customs show that from January to September this year, the total value of Yiwu's imports and exports exceeded the 600 billion yuan mark for the first time in the same period of history, reaching 631.2 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 26.3%, approaching the total value of imports and exports for the whole of last year, which was 668.93 billion yuan. Among them, exports reached 553.99 billion yuan, increasing by 25.7%. Imports reached 77.21 billion yuan, up 31.3%.

From January to September this year, Yiwu's imports and exports with Africa, Latin America, ASEAN and the European Union reached 111.2 billion yuan, 98.3 billion yuan, 72.24 billion yuan and 65.51 billion yuan respectively, increasing by 22.3%, 15.2%, 52.4% and 32.1% year-on-year respectively. During the same period, the total import and export value with the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative reached 429.39 billion yuan, increasing by 28.9% year-on-year, accounting for 68.0% of the total import and export value of Yiwu City during the same period.

On October 13th, the "Istanbul Bridge" cargo ship of Haijie Shipping, which made its maiden voyage from Ningbo Zhoushan Port, smoothly arrived at the Port of Felixstowe in the UK, marking the successful opening of the world's first China-Europe Arctic container express shipping route. The vessel set off from Ningbo-Zhoushan Port on September 23rd, carrying over 1,000 containers. It crossed the Northeast Passage of the Arctic and arrived at the Port of Frexstowe in the UK after 20 days. Compared with the approximately 25 days of the China-Europe Railway Express, the 40 days of the Suez Canal route, and the 50 days of the Cape of Good Hope route, the transportation efficiency of the China-Europe Arctic Express route is highly competitive in international trade, providing a more efficient, safe and independent "third channel" for the export of "Made in China" to Europe.

According to the latest report from Imarc Group, the global e-commerce market is expected to grow from 26.8 trillion US dollars in 2024 to 214.5 trillion US dollars in 2033, with a compound annual growth rate as high as 25.83%. The main driving forces behind this significant growth include AI-driven personalized services, the increase in the penetration rate of smart phones, and the development of secure digital payment systems. Under the influence of the accelerated urbanization process and the increasing usage rate of mobile Internet, the Asia-Pacific region is rapidly becoming the core driving force for global e-commerce growth.

The global e-commerce market size chart source: Yiwu Index

According to the 2025 global e-commerce platform traffic data released by Visual Capitalist, Amazon continues to dominate the market with an absolute advantage, with an average monthly traffic of 2.7 billion visits, accounting for a quarter of the total traffic of the top 20 global retail websites. Chinese e-commerce platforms TEMU and AliExpress ranked second and third respectively, with average monthly visits of 1.6 billion and 646 million. The combined share of the US and Chinese platforms in global digital shopping traffic is approximately 65%.

The average monthly traffic of global e-commerce in 2025 is shown on the Internet

On October 30th, TikTok announced at its first Southeast Asia App Summit held in Vietnam that the platform's user base in Southeast Asia has exceeded 460 million. Among them, Indonesia has the largest number of users, exceeding 160 million. Vietnam and Thailand are 70 million and 50 million respectively. It is reported that in Southeast Asia, the GMV of TikTok Shop reached 38.2 billion US dollars. The average order value (AOV) in Indonesia is close to $5, while in the United States it is approximately $30.

02

An Overview of International Logistics

Ningbo Zhoushan Port undertakes a large amount of export business of small commodities from Yiwu and is an important seaport for Yiwu. According to the latest monitoring by Yiwu Index, on October 31, 2025, the Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) closed at 1,100.3 points, up 53.4% from the end of September. In October, the suspension of some voyages led to a contraction in capacity. Coupled with the consensus reached in multiple fields during the China-Us economic and trade consultations, which boosted the market, freight rates continued to rise.

The trend chart of the NCFI Composite Index

Data source: Ningbo Shipping Exchange

www.ywindex.com

In late October 2025, the Ningbo-Europe route was adjusted to $2,284 per FEU for the month, with the route's freight rate index at 965.62 points, an increase of 57.23% compared to the previous month. The freight rate index for the Ningbo-West Coast route was 1,452.82 points, an increase of 67.33% compared to last month. The price for the Ningbo-East Coast route is $3,628 per FEU, with a freight rate index of 1,102.42 points, an increase of 32.18% compared to last month. The freight rate index for the Ningbo-Middle East route stood at 1,198.68 points, up 123.46% from last month.

Trend chart of the main route index changes of NCFI

Data source: Ningbo Shipping Exchange

www.ywindex.com

The following chart shows the freight rates for some sea routes from China (Ningbo Port) to overseas ports on the Jianyiyun freight platform recently. It is for reference only.

Data source: Collation of public information

www.ywindex.com

• Several shipping companies, including Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, have announced adjustments to freight rates on some routes and the introduction of peak Season Surcharges (PSS). Starting from November 10, 2025, Maersk will impose a PSS of 100 US dollars on all dry and refrigerated containers transported from East China ports such as Shanghai and Ningbo to Sihanoukville Port. Starting from November 1st, Hapag-Lloyd will impose a PSS on goods from multiple ports in Asia and Oceania to Southwest Africa at a rate of 400 US dollars per TEU. This price adjustment is aimed at addressing the pressure of operating costs.

• On October 28th, the newly opened JTV route by COSCO Shipping Lines successfully made its maiden voyage from Kobe, Japan. This route connects Japan, South China, Thailand and Vietnam, covering major ports such as Kobe, Tokyo, Nansha, Laem Chabang and Ho Chi Minh City. The new route has enabled efficient direct flights from Japan to Thailand and Vietnam, and has incorporated Yangpu, Hainan into the network, significantly shortening the transportation cycle between regions and providing new impetus for trade exchanges among major economic circles in Asia.

03

Exchange rate dynamics

America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and other regions are the key export areas of Yiwu Market. The following is the latest currency exchange rate analysis of its major export countries:

On November 6th, the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Chinese yuan was around 7.1 yuan. The average monthly exchange rate of the US dollar to the Chinese yuan in October 2025 was 7.0948. The US dollar weakened against the Chinese yuan. The direct trigger for the recent weakness of the US dollar is the unexpected cooling of the US CPI data in September. Core CPI rose by 3.0% year-on-year, lower than the market expectation of 3.1%. The 0.2% month-on-month increase further confirmed the trend of inflation decline and strengthened the market's expectation that the Federal Reserve will start a rate-cutting cycle, thereby exerting downward pressure on the US dollar.

The trend chart of the central parity rate of the USD/CNY

Data source: China Money Net

www.ywindex.com

On November 6th, the exchange rate of the euro against the Chinese yuan was around 8.2 yuan. The average monthly exchange rate of the euro against the Chinese yuan in October 2025 was 8.2558 yuan, indicating a weakening of the euro against the Chinese yuan. This exchange rate performance is related to the weak economic fundamentals of the Eurozone. Eurostat released data on October 30 showing that the eurozone economy managed to grow by just 0.2% in the third quarter, slightly higher than market expectations. Analysts point out that obvious downside risks are still suppressing the prospects of economic recovery and posing constraints on the eurozone economy.

Euro/RMB central parity rate trend chart

Data source: China Money Net

www.ywindex.com

On November 6th, the exchange rate of the RMB against the dirham was around 0.52 yuan. The average monthly exchange rate of the RMB against the UAE dirham in October 2025 was 0.52. Although the dirham is pegged to the US dollar, fluctuations in the US dollar exchange rate will be directly transmitted to the dirham. International crude oil prices were under pressure to decline in October. This factor may affect the exchange rate of the dirham by influencing the sentiment of US dollar assets and expectations for UAE oil revenues.

The trend chart of the central parity rate of RMB/UAE dirham

Data source: China Money Net

www.ywindex.com

On October 31st, the exchange rate of the RMB against the Brazilian real was around 0.759 yuan. The RMB generally showed a trend of first appreciating and then weakening against the real. This trend is mainly driven by factors such as the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts, the decline in the attractiveness of US dollar assets, and the high interest rate environment in Brazil. The Central Bank of Brazil is expected to maintain the benchmark interest rate at 15% until early 2026, which will continue to support the real exchange rate. The domestic fiscal pressure in Brazil and the approaching election may increase market volatility, and the future trend of the real may be volatile.

The reference exchange rate chart of the Brazilian Real (CNY/BRL)

Data source: China Money Net

www.ywindex.com

04

Overview of the Raw Materials Market

The production of small commodities in Yiwu Market involves the procurement of a large amount of raw materials such as textiles, plastic products, hardware accessories and electronic components. The following text focuses on the dynamic situation of important basic raw materials such as steel, cotton, and polyethylene (PE).

Overall price fluctuations are weak: Terminal demand for construction, infrastructure and other sectors has entered the off-season and continues to slow down. The support from the cost side is stabilizing. Due to the high inventory and the decline in demand, iron ore prices may continue to operate weakly, and their pulling effect on steel prices is relatively weak.

The comprehensive average price index of domestic steel from October 2024 to October 2025

Data source: My Steel

www.ywindex.com

Steel inventory increase: According to data from the China Iron and Steel Association, by mid-October 2025, the steel inventory of key steel enterprises reached 16.58 million tons, an increase of 4.4%. Compared with the beginning of the year, it increased by 34.0%. It increased by 8.4% compared with the same period last month.

From October 2024 to October 2025, the inventory situation of key steel enterprises will be statistically analyzed

Data source: China Iron and Steel Association

www.ywindex.com

The price first dropped and then rose: In late October 2025, the price of cotton (lint cotton, white cotton grade three) in the national circulation field was 14,505.4 yuan per ton, an increase of 239.5 yuan per ton compared with the previous period. In the first half of the month, the cotton price was under pressure and declined due to the concentrated supply of new cotton. In the second half, as the harvest in Xinjiang came to an end, the per-unit yield in southern Xinjiang fell short of expectations and the purchase price of seed cotton rose. Coupled with favorable macro conditions, these factors jointly supported a slight recovery in cotton prices.

The changes in domestic cotton market prices from October 2024 to October 2025

Data source: National Bureau of Statistics

www.ywindex.com

Overall inventory increase: As the pace of new cotton harvesting and processing has been accelerating since October, domestic cotton supply has gradually increased. Wind data shows that as of mid-October, the national commercial cotton inventory was 1.72 million tons, an increase of 700,000 tons compared with the end of last month. Under the pattern of abundant cotton production, it is expected that the pace and quantity of new cotton hitting the market in November and December will far exceed those of previous years.

The price slightly declined: In late October, the price of polyethylene in the national circulation field was 7,196.9 yuan per ton, a decrease of 0.4% compared with the previous month. The traditional peak season demand fell short of expectations, with overall demand declining year-on-year. New orders from downstream factories were limited, and most of the purchases were small and essential, which failed to provide effective support for prices.

The changes in domestic polyethylene market prices from October 2024 to October 2025

Data source: National Bureau of Statistics

www.ywindex.com

Overall inventory decline: As of October 22nd, the sample inventory of polyethylene producers in China was 514,600 tons, a decrease of 14,900 tons compared with the previous period, representing a month-on-month decline of 2.81%. The inventory trend has shifted from an increase to a decrease.