Tuesday, October 13
President Donald Trump taunted China in his first term, claiming his tariffs had led to the loss of 5 million jobs there. In a 2019 tweet, he said his trade policies had put China "back on its heels." Economists sharply disputed how much pain Trump's tariffs caused, but the message underscored the centrality of jobs to China's export-reliant economy. Four months into Trump's second term, the United States and China are again negotiating over tariffs, and the Chinese labour market, especially factory jobs, is front and centre. This time, China's economy is struggling, leaving its workers more vulnerable. A persistent property slowdown that got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out jobs and made people feel poorer. New university graduates are pouring into the labour pool at a tim
