China-US trade: Firms in Guangdong welcome ‘ceasefire’ but look to diversify

China-US trade: Firms in Guangdong welcome ‘ceasefire’ but look to diversify
Laura Bicker

China journalist

Reporting fromGuangdong
BBC Derek wangBBC

Workers in Foshan, southern China, should be welding premium atmosphere fryers for the US market in a large, empty space in the middle of the factory floor.

According to Derek Wang, his air fryer models, which can be controlled via phones and can also be baked, roasted, and grilled, won over the British market.

However, Donald Trump’s” Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2 eventually reached 145 % of all Chinese goods entering the US, and his clientele requested that he halt production.

He told the BBC,” I tried to keep smiling despite my worry for the sake of my 40 workers.”

Mr. Wang stated that his US consumers were back on the phone on Wednesday as a package to end the trade war reopened.

Both nations still have to pay some levies. Beijing has maintained a 10 % tax on American products entering the country, down from 125 %, and there is at least a 30 % tax on all Chinese products entering the US.

Factory and business owners have had some breathing space thanks to this unexpected partnership, which came about after a weekend of conversations in Switzerland.

Our US customer is willing to pay the taxes at this time. We had to deal with them, he said, because they requested that we lower some of our expenses.

Mr. Wang, who spent three years assisting in the creation of the air fryer design, studied engineering in Delaware, US. He claimed the tariffs shocked him and cost him$ 500,000 to launch his business.

My kids were divorcing, I thought. The most significant economic and cultural power in the world are China and the US. Their immediate separation would create a world beyond our ability to imagine. We would have to say goodbye to one another if our rates were as high as 145 %.

However, he adds that” good fortune comes out of poor wealth.”

Mr. Wang believes that Mr. Wang’s” fine fortune” stems from the fact that his business ventures have been accelerated by this trade war.

One of the reasons Beijing thinks this way about its discussions with Washington. China has a choice, and officers have been constantly encouraging the nation’s businesses to conduct business in places like Africa, South America, and South East Asia.

Some other Chinese companies have even informed the BBC that they are looking to leave the US to lessen their reliance on the market, which suggests there could be more of a parting between the US and China in the long run than a divorce.

A wide shot of the interior of a sparsely filled factory. Workers are sitting at a long table near the windows, surrounded by shelves. Behind them, some distance away, are shelves with boxes stacked on them.

By the end of this week, Donald Trump has indicated that he may contact Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two biggest markets of the world will now start discussions after agreeing to end their financial conflict for 90 times.

Beijing has described this agreement as a succeed, not just for China but for all nations that are subject to US taxes.

However, it has value.

A quick stroll through the Shunde area, known as the” capital of household appliances,” provides a somber evaluation of a struggling manufacturing sector.

Workers in Foshan release a small gas during the cooler evenings. They contaminate the entire neighborhood area.

During the day, they pack, mold, and arrange almost everything in their home, including pots and refrigerators, washing machines and gas heaters.

One party line dances in one part of the little park at night after leaving work, and a warmed basketball game occurs in another area.

Posters adorn the streets promoting” steady work and quick” jobs that involve putting products together for 20 yuan an hour, as well as packaging and screwing them for 30 days in a home device manufacturer for 16 yuan an hour.

However, agents informed us that many businesses, particularly those with US connections, had stopped hiring, and some even had closed off certain areas of their manufacturing lines.

Three unemployed men sit on a ledge in a park with some distance between each of them. One is wearing a blue shirt and squatting, looking at his phone; another wearing a bright yellow shirt is leaning on his hand with one foot on the ledge, looking at the camera; beside him is another man in a white shirt with his legs crossed and looking down at his phone.

A number of these employees will rest in the garden to save money, according to the BBC. Many of them travel to Foshan from their hometowns, which can be hundreds of kilometers apart.

There are at least an hour’s worth of pay for rooms at several local hostels for 20 yuan per day. Some people will want to recoup what they make so that they can give it back to their families.

President Trump’s group attempted to present a photo of China that featured slow growth, rising poverty, and a persistent housing issue.

After the announcement of the business deal, Mr. Trump said,” We’re not looking to injure China,” while adding that China was “being hurt very badly.”

They were shutting down companies. They were quite happy to be able to help us despite being really unrestful. “

Beijing’s financial problems may be overstated by this. This nation is still at the forefront of developing solar panels and electronic cars, and it is also making significant progress in artificial intelligence technology.

Chinese leaders have also been making a point of stressing that the nation can handle an economic war. However, some on the front are making a lot of sense of it, which may be a factor in Beijing’s decision to contact the US.

Two men in white shirts, the bosses of a sofa factory, bend over to examine a white sofa in a factory.

As companies wonder if this most recent “ceasefire” will continue, there has been a rush of directions between the two nations.

He Ke, or” HK” to his American consumers, has contacted his employees in their hometowns to relaunch Gongyuan Furniture, a seat manufacturer.

Even before Mr. Trump’s levies hit 145 %, it came to a halt.

We immediately had a day off, according to Mr. He. We were already at a halt when the levies hit 50 %. We were undoubtedly unable to conduct business when their rate reached 145 %. Simply put, it was impossible. “

His generation line, which spanned around 200 staff, when occupied all four floors of the structure.

He has just needed a floor and about 40 staff members since the Covid pandemic. However, he does occasionally have a famous buyer who claims Elon Musk is sat on one of his chairs.

A woman wearing a grey t-shirt at a sofa factory sits in front of a sewing machine. She is wearing white earbuds and holding a large piece of green fabric at the table.

Some workers have already arrived and are putting a soft seat on a blower to make it ready for shipping and boxing.

As workers sew the appropriate size fabric to include storage foam cushions, sewing machines murmur in the background.

Mr. He claims that Foshan has undergone numerous modifications since he started producing chairs in 2013.

” We believe that the world market is not strong. The local economy has even suffered, which has an impact on how people live around. We used to spend a lot of money, but in the history that is how we used to go out and invest it. We didn’t consider whether the rate was high or low. We may purchase it as long as we enjoy it. We must now reconsider purchasing fairly cheap items because the cash is not easy to make. “

Mr. He even claims that he is considering diversifying his sales outside of the US, just like Mr. Wang and his surroundings fryers, but that he hopes a deal can be reached between the world’s two largest economies in the next 90 days.

I’m merely a little business. However, I am aware that these two nations play a momentary activity. They will certainly lay down and talk things over if they want to stay together for a long time. “