It is a long way from the souks of Egypt, but Mohamed Abdalla is right at home in Yiwu, the heart of the small commodities community in China. Yu Ran hears his story.

SHANGHAI - He has been exporting commodities from Yiwu, Zhejiang province, for 21 years, and 49-year-old Egyptian businessman Mohamed Abdalla speaks fluent Mandarin and loves local food. In fact, now he thinks he is more Chinese than Egyptian.

"When I went back to Egypt for a short vacation, I couldn't help missing the life and friends in China, which has become my home and career focus for now and in the future, " said Abdalla, who started learning Chinese in Peking University in 1983 and obtained a doctorate from Renmin University of China in 1990.

Abdalla started exporting commodities and budget clothing back to Egypt in 1990, when he moved to Yiwu with his wife, a university classmate from Beijing who is from the United Kingdom.

Yiwu is famous for its China Small-Commodity Market, which has become a shopping paradise for tourists from all over the world with its bewildering range of cheap, quality merchandise.

"I was inspired by the surprisingly cheap price of goods in Yiwu, while most made-in-China products exhibited at the annual Canton Fair are quite expensive," said Abdalla.

After building up a business network in two years at the Canton Fair, Abdalla contacted suppliers selling much cheaper products from Yiwu, becoming one of the first to profit from the booming trade over the next 20 years.

In the past two decades, Abdalla's clientele has increased from six to hundreds of regulars from South American, Asian and African countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Brazil.

"I am keen on choosing better quality products and keeping the supply of a variety of commodities going, to make sure the number of overseas orders keep increasing."

As for the tough competition in Yiwu, Abdalla is positive that, with the expansion of the overseas markets, there is enough room for both foreign and local merchants to make money.

"As a Muslim, we have the tradition of sharing everything with others, including business opportunities. I don't have to compete for orders because most of us have already got regular clients," Abdalla said. At the moment, his wife and 15-year-old daughter are living in Shanghai and he is kept busy flying to and from Shanghai, Yiwu and Guangzhou to cater to business and family.

Ten years ago, a foreigner like Abdalla would attract much attention in Yiwu, but as China's export-oriented economy rapidly develops, more and more foreign businessmen like him are chasing their pots of gold here.

"I think the number of BMW cars in Yiwu is probably more than in Shanghai," said Abdalla.

According to Yiwu's department of foreign trade and economic cooperation and its administration for industry and commerce, there are now over 11,000 foreign residents and 2,124 representative offices of overseas enterprises from 85 countries and regions in Yiwu, more than that in Hangzhou and Ningbo, two developed cities in Zhejiang.

This pushes Yiwu up to the number one ranking in Zhejiang province.

"I will continue my export business in Yiwu. The city still has potential and I plan to stay in China with my family. This is where my passion and devotion lie," Abdalla said.

(China Daily 04/04/2011 page3)