US tariffs a wake-up call for China to improve labour standards

The intensifying
US-China trade tensions , most visibly in the form of US tariffs, have been framed as a significant threat to China's export-driven economy. The real impact of tariffs remains to be seen.
Advertisement
However, China should see the tariffs for what they really are: a signal that the world is losing patience with a model of growth built on cheap labour and poor protections, and with its impact on economies.
This pressure need not be seen as a challenge, but as an opportunity. There is no better moment for China to pivot – to embrace labour reforms and build a more resilient and fairer economy at home.
The tariffs are just the latest example of a world increasingly wary of
China's manufacturing supremacy. From 'nearshoring', where the United States and its allies encourage companies to move manufacturing closer to home, to the European Union's
Anti-Coercion Instrument , countries are acting to reduce their reliance on Chinese products.
China has endeavoured to offset this growing economic risk. In the past decades, China's dependence on the US market has
steadily declined . China's share of goods exports in its gross domestic product dropped from 36 per cent in 2006 to 18 per cent in 2023. Exports to the US accounted for 15 per cent of the total last year, down from around 20 per cent in 2017.
01:00
Trump justifies 'China tariffs' as US effort to curb 'greatest job theft in the world'
Trump justifies 'China tariffs' as US effort to curb 'greatest job theft in the world'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

HKFP

40 minutes ago

• HKFP

US urges China to prevent Iran from shutting down Strait of Hormuz, key trade route

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged China on Sunday to help deter Iran from shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route, following American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. 'I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that because they heavily depend on the Strait of Hormuz for their oil,' Rubio said on Fox News. Analysts have said Iran may opt to retaliate to Washington's early Sunday attack by shutting the Strait, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes. 'If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake. It's economic suicide for them if they do it, and we retain options to deal with that,' Rubio added. 'But other countries should be looking at that as well, it would hurt other countries' economies a lot worse than ours. It would be, I think, a massive escalation that would merit a response. Not just by us but from others,' he said. Meanwhile, Iran has threatened bases used by the US military, with an advisor to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying they will be considered a 'legitimate target for our armed forces.' However, it remains to be seen whether the US strikes will push Tehran to de-escalate the conflict or to widen it further. China has joined Russia and a chorus of Arab states in condemning the US attacks, saying that they 'escalate tensions in the Middle East.'

HKFP

40 minutes ago

• HKFP

Gov't resources must not fall into the hands of ‘non-patriots,' Hong Kong environment chief says

Hong Kong's environment minister has pledged to tighten scrutiny of applicants and recipients of the government's Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF), saying public resources must not fall into the hands of 'non-patriots.' Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan told Beijing-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po in an interview published on Sunday that authorities would closely monitor the work of environmental groups to ensure statutory funding is not 'abused' for 'inappropriate purposes.' Since the enactment of the Beijing-imposed national security law in 2020, additional vetting procedures have been introduced to the ECF application process, Tse said. Applicants must now sign a declaration pledging compliance with the security law and all local laws. Authorities also review the background and past work of applicant organisations to verify that they are 'patriotic.' 'We have to ensure that government resources do not end up in the hands of non-patriots, to prevent them from abusing such resources for activities endangering national security, rather than for the purposes of protecting the environment,' Tse said. According to the ECF website, failure to submit the national security declaration renders an application invalid. The ECF application guidelines also state that the government has the right to disqualify recipient organisations on national security grounds and may bar them from future applications if they are deemed contrary to the public interest, morals, or safety. Tse said all organisations currently involved in environmental projects were 'patriotic' and credited the new screening measures with producing 'significant results.' The minister also pointed to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department's move in 2022 to add national security clauses to the issuance of licences to markets, public entertainment venues and other premises. When asked about the recent expansion of such requirements to licences for food businesses, cinemas, gaming centres and other premises, Tse said the move was to let society know that safeguarding national security 'is everyone's responsibility.' In a Wen Wei Po interview in July 2023, Tse alleged that some green groups had 'ignored the boundaries of the law,' and that public funds had previously been allocated to 'anti-China' organisations. He added that environmental issues were 'easily hyped up' and could be used as a pretext to oppose the government. High-ranking Hong Kong officials have taken turns to speak about various national security threats facing the city and have vowed stricter scrutiny ahead of the fifth anniversary of the national security law. strictly vet applications for event subsidies, performance venues, exhibition content, and library collections in a bid to better safeguard national security. Monday next week – on June 30 – marks five years since the national security law came into effect. The legislation was inserted directly into the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, in 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.

The Standard

an hour ago

• The Standard

Iran issues stark warning to Trump 'the gambler': We will end this war

U.S. President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One to depart from the White House en route to New Jersey, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 20, 2025. (Reuters