China produces too much, according to the West. Employees there disagree

China produces too much, according to the West. Employees there disagree

Ren Wenbing finds it difficult to abandon the abandoned brick factory that was once a booming enterprise in Dongguan, the center of China's manufacturing industry.

The 54-year-old recalls, pointing at where he used to build furniture and where everyone would congregate for lunch, "All the workers feel astonished."

In an effort to save expenses, the company's owner relocated manufacturing to South East Asia. Mr. Ren claims he should get redundancy compensation of over 80,000 RMB ($11,000; £8,800), which may take years to accrue.

He continues, "We are grieving and disappointed," as a machine smashes the panes with a sledgehammer.

Mr. Ren's sorrow extends beyond the demise of a furniture company. The demise of China's once-unstoppable economy, which is making it more difficult for millions of people to obtain employment, grieves him.

There's no longer enough manufactured in China for guys like him.

During US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's recent visit, the predominant theme was the West's accusation that China is producing excessive amounts of goods. She chastised Beijing for "unfair economic practices," saying that it produces more than the world could consume or that it needs.

The "Made in China" label that appears embroidered, stitched, or stamped on t-shirts, coffee tables, and televisions in countless homes worldwide is evolving. It is now the central component of the solar panels driving Europe's green plans and the electric automobiles flooding the country. And the West is concerned about it.

A worldwide recession, tight Covid lockdowns, and growing trade tensions with the US have caused several manufacturers who previously flocked to China to go elsewhere. The amount of foreign capital in the nation is at a 30-year low.

However, while the traditional industrial pillars of apparel, furniture, and electronics are having trouble surviving, Beijing is turning to its "new productive forces"—solar energy, lithium batteries, and electric vehicles.

Salesman Yan Mu displays the company's storage batteries and says, "We are exporting to the UK, Belgium, Germany, and most European countries, but also to Africa, Australia, South America, North America, and also South East Asia."

This is one of the booths at an expo at a renovated and reused steel mill on the outskirts of Beijing, hosted by hundreds of green energy storage firms.

"In my opinion, Chinese businesses are dominating the whole energy storage industry. With invention, with emerging technology, with sales of batteries, with PCS [power conversion systems], with everything. Currently, I estimate that between 80 and 90 percent of energy storage devices are created and produced in China."

There are further indications of the size of this business a few hours' drive from Dongguan: solar panels cover every available space.

China has installed more solar panels in the last year than the United States has built in ten years, thanks to mass production that has down prices to half of what they were the previous year.

European manufacturers are finding it difficult to compete. By 2023, China accounted for 97% of all solar panels installed in Europe.

However, compared to the sectors that formerly drove China's phenomenal development, its new industries are significantly less labor-intensive and need for a growing number of robots as well as specialized, highly trained laborers. China's total urban unemployment rate is still around 5%, despite the fact that the country's young unemployment has garnered more attention.

China is allegedly attempting to save its economy by manufacturing low-cost, government-subsidized green technologies that it will export, according to the US and the EU. They claim it's a strategy that's pushing down the price of solar panels and other cutting-edge technologies, forcing out Western companies.

China claims that innovation, not government subsidies, is the reason for its success and that as more nations switch from fossil fuels to more environmentally friendly energy sources, there will be a market for their products.

Throw away the old

Yet, Mr. Ren is unable to get employment amid China's recent economic boom.

Moving to Dongguan, a city in the southern coastal province of Guangdong, he left his family farm in Henan as a youngster and became renowned as the "factory of the world" due to its abundance of manufacturers. He once went eleven years without going home.

He is one of the around 300 million migrant laborers who have left rural China to seek employment in the cities. Most go away from their family behind: Mr. Ren and his wife dwell in Dongguan, where it is estimated that 75% of the 10 million people living there are migrants. Their children are being raised by their grandparents.

He adds, "Of course my kids miss me," and he and his wife "had no choice."

We didn't make much money. We didn't have much left over after paying for our daily expenses, sending money home for our parents, and funding our kids' schooling."

"This is a problem that all migrant workers have," he says. "We must live apart from our loved ones and work in other regions if we want to support our old and our youngsters. This is how things really are."

Their lives now stand at a crossroads, much like China's future.

Now, Ren and his spouse share a room big enough to accommodate a single bed and a side table. That's where he sits and looks through employment adverts on his phone. The majority of factories pay less than the minimum wage of 16RMB ($2.50; £2) per hour. An advertisement merely promised 13 RMB per hour.

He has gone to court to get his redundancy money because he needs it. However, it seems like the owner has fled the nation, leaving him and over 300 former coworkers in a precarious situation.

"We have deep affections for this country and have seen the changes in Dongguan. This is our second house. If we were to go now, we would feel disoriented and incredibly sad. We keep in mind the efforts made by the local administration to provide us with additional advantages. We were able to make a livelihood and get employment thanks to government measures."

Dongguan emerged as China's principal export and manufacturing hub starting in the middle of the 1980s, shortly after the country's opening to the outside world. It produced inexpensive toys, clothing, and footwear.

Tens of thousands of workers would have waited in line at the gates then to begin their shift producing shoes for export to the US.

However, in more recent times, employees started to demand more pay, and businesses started lowering their pricing to get contracts, further reducing earnings. Soon after taking office, Donald Trump imposed taxes on Chinese goods, including shoes. Businesses started to turn abroad in quest of lower operating expenses and safety from the US-China trade disputes.

There are now kilometers of deserted low-rise structures in one almost abandoned Dongguan neighborhood that resemble ghost factories. The sole resident is a lone security guard who waves off any inquisitive bystanders.

The symphony of songbirds has taken the place of the incessant buzz of sewing machines, and the tenacious roots of banyan trees have infiltrated the concrete framework of buildings. Nature is reclaiming what man has left behind thanks in part to the warm and often humid southern environment.

However, Dongguan is not given up and is making an effort to reinvent itself as a high-tech center in an effort to reclaim some of its past grandeur. The electronics behemoth Huawei has been constructing a complex to accommodate 25,000 workers on the outskirts of Songshan Lake. A new scientific park and many hotels have opened.

As he attempts to take advantage of the city's new orientation, Alan Lee is dozing off in his newly painted office. The 32-year-old, who started his firm despite the economic slump, is aiming to sell high-tech gear to Europe.

"A large number of individuals have lost their employment recently. Many ended themselves in debt and had to sell their homes. We see that a lot of businesses experience a decline in export demand. The management have to shut down their facilities due to extreme financial strain. In order to relieve pressure on manufacturing, we decided to concentrate on commerce."

However, Mr. Ren and other individuals like him do not yet possess the new tech skills that are necessary for these positions. He's starting to lose hope of ever getting the money he's due.

He considers the explanation he will give his kids for their father's absence.

"I'm not sure how to respond well. I could just claim that your mother and I are traveling in order to provide a better life and education. We hope you pick up knowledge so you won't have to work as hard as we do in the future.