Quzhou local awarded for contributions to reform and opening-up

Quzhou native Xie Gaohua conducts an interview with local media before his attendance at the grand gathering to mark the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up in Beijing on Dec 18. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"A country has a boundary, but a market has not," said Quzhou native Xie Gaohua during an interview with local media ahead of the grand gathering to mark the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up.

To be held in Beijing on Dec 18, Xie will be awarded for his great contributions to China's reform and opening-up over the past 4 decades together with 99 other Chinese people from different walks of life.

The Yiwu Small Commodity Market, whose establishment was approved by Xie 40 years ago, has now grown into the largest in the world.

The Quzhou native served as the Party secretary of Yiwu, a county-level city in Zhejiang's Jinhua city, from 1982 to 1984, right at the beginning of China's reform and opening-up.

Xie recalls that, upon taking his post, he spent the first four or five months conducting a thorough investigation of the place and learning everything he could. "No investigation, no say" is what the reformer believes.

Forty years ago, Yiwu residents found it difficult to get enough to eat because of a large population and relatively little arable land.

At that time, local farmers would swap their farm produce for daily necessities with each other during low seasons.

However, there was no explicit policy allowing the free market in China.

In Xie's eyes, to develop the market economy was in line with the central government's motivations for reform and opening-up.

So he decided to take a chance and opened a small commodity market in Yiwu in 1982.

After more than 30 years of development, last year Yiwu saw an e-commerce transaction volume of 222 billion yuan ($32 billion).

As an important city along the Belt and Road route, a Yiwu-Europe freight rail was launched four years ago, making the city further accessible to the outside world.

People from all walks of life were invited by Xie Gaohua to offer suggestions on how to develop Yiwu 40 years ago. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]