Wenzhou started non-public economic sectors based on the concept of “a big market with small commodities”. From the late 1970s to the mid 1980s, it devoted its major efforts to developing commodity economy and household industry as well as specialized markets. By the end of 2006, the city had set up 442 specialized markets of all kinds, including 351 markets of consumer goods and 89 markets of production means. The total annual transaction volume of commodity exchange markets reached 67.9 billion yuan. That of 67 markets exceeded 100 million yuan and that of 16 markets exceeded one billion yuan.
In Wenzhou the market form has also undergone changes. The former tangible, production and domestic market is becoming an intangible, sales and overseas market. Most of Wenzhou’s products were sold through the markets of other places and quite a number of enterprises carried out virtual management.