China’s sprawling Guangdong province has long been the main engine driving the nation’s manufacturing prowess.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Xi’s Export Juggernaut Is Leaving China’s Factory Workers Behind
Workers who powered a tariff-defying boom tell a grim story of falling wages and vanishing jobs.
Along a stretch of shopfronts in downtown Guangzhou, dozens of middle-aged day laborers linger in the winter chill, waiting for agents from nearby factories in southern China to offer some work.
For Sheng, 55, the goal is simply to earn enough to eat and pay rent: His income more than halved to less than 100 yuan (around $14) per day over the past few years. “Some people can’t find work for months,” said Sheng, who asked to use only his surname. “People are here looking for jobs 24 hours a day.”