China’s Christmas Village Isn’t Worried About Trump’s Trade War
Yiwu has plans to get around White House tariffs on holiday lights.
Employees make branches for artificial trees at Bosen Crafts’ factory in Yiwu.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
The charmless trading city of Yiwu in southern China doesn’t have elves or snow, but it’s as close to Santa’s workshop as you can get outside the North Pole. The streets of its commercial district are crowded with shops peddling all things Christmas: minitrees, plastic reindeer, glittery wreaths, and flashing lights of every color—lots and lots of lights. The stores are stuffed wall-to-wall with Yuletide swag, and goods routinely spill out onto the sidewalk—all the better to catch the attention of visiting buyers from the U.S. and other Western nations.
President Trump’s trade war was supposed to be the Grinch to steal the Christmas cheer from this holiday-exporting hub about 175 miles southwest of Shanghai. But, so far at least, it looks as if the enduring power of globalization—and entrenched supply chains—is winning out. Says Hong Feihong, owner of Ziru Christmas Crafts: “Orders from the U.S. for this year’s Christmas were pretty good. I don’t really care what Trump is doing. It doesn’t affect us.”