Private companies in major Chinese industrial base, Zhejiang Province, are struggling to stay afloat and find employment, despite China's sluggish economy. The city of Yiwu, a major production and industrial base in eastern China, is seeing a decline in trade orders as private enterprises struggle to stay financially. Profit margins for industrial enterprises have been under pressure since 2024, according to local industry insiders. Despite this, many family-run export enterprises have had to cease operations due to shifting supply chains and shrinking orders over the past few years. Despite official data showing the total value of goods trade imports and exports reaching 1.38 trillion yuan in the first quarter of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 7.1 percent, Liu Mao, a businessman in Wenzhou, said that Zhajiang’s export trade figures were heavily inflated.