A businessman at the Yiwu International Trade Market introduces his products online. [Photo/zgyww.cn]

Yiwu's economy has been boosted by online livestreaming, as livestreaming platforms and e-commerce are flourishing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the emergence of new sales methods, "livestream host" has become a new profession.

From January to September this year, livestream hosts in Yiwu held about 354,000 livestreams, generating 27.61 billion yuan (3.81 billion) in retail sales, a year-on-year increase of 10.64 percent.

In the same period, e-commerce trade in Yiwu increased by 7.62 percent yearly to 292.87 billion yuan.

Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang province is known as the world's largest small commodity distribution center, and the Yiwu International Trade Market is home to 75,000 commercial booths and more than 2.1 million kinds of commodities.

With rich resources and a burgeoning e-commerce industry, many local shop owners in Yiwu have been launching livestream events to boost sales amid the epidemic.

The city has also developed live broadcast bases to attract leading companies. The official live broadcast bases of short video platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou have already been established in Yiwu. A total of 20 live broadcast bases for e-commerce have been built, covering over 300,000 square meters and serving more than 70 live broadcast service agencies.