‘Yiwu index’ points to bleak Xmas, dark hours in West By GT staff reporters Source: Global Times Published: 2020/12/22 22:43:39 Local manufacturers shift to Chinese-style holiday products Buyers pick Christmas items at a stall in Yiwu International Trade City shopping mall in East China's Zhejiang Province on Friday. Overseas orders for vendors in Yiwu declined sharply. Photo: Yang Hui/GT Almost a year ago when COVID-19 cases emerged in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei Province, Western media were fixated on criticizing and slandering China's unprecedented response to the epidemic, as one of the most important holiday season in the country - the Chinese New Year - was disrupted. Some even linked the epidemic to China's political system and culture, sparking at times a racist attitude toward not just Chinese but Asian people.