It's a sombre gathering in the backstreets of one of China's biggest manufacturing hubs, where workers are smoking under a tree in front of storefronts advertising temporary factory jobs.
No one understands what our life is like, says one man who is unwilling to be named. We work and work and have no life. Please help us, another adds - a rare, risky plea to a foreign journalist.
They seem desperate, struggling to earn enough to send money home, as they cope with the massive shifts in Chinese manufacturing, from cheap, mass-produced goods to automated advanced tech. And that was even before the US-Israel war with Iran shook the global economy.
China's economy was already battling slower growth and unemployment when Donald Trump's tariffs hit last year. Still, it proved resilient, boosting exports and reporting GDP growth of around 5%. But the discontent continued to simmer. And now the Middle East conflict is starting to take a fresh toll, putting pressure on factory orders, costs, and jobs.
In Foshan, in the southern industrial province of Guangdong, the workers' best opportunity is plastered in bright red lettering in front of them: a few weeks of moulding plastic or screwing together parts of a mobile phone, for 18 to 20 yuan an hour, which amounts to just a few dollars or pounds.
I'm going to try and find work elsewhere, says another worker from a rural province. Most are well over 40 years old and frustrated at yet more uncertainty. This is one of the reasons Beijing is calling for the war to end.
China's enviable oil reserves and the lead it has taken in renewables and electric cars have insulated it from the worst effects of the fuel crisis. But even as it puts on a show of steady strength, the war is choking the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route, and that is causing more pain to a sluggish Chinese economy that is heavily reliant on exports. Costs have gone up around 20%, says one trader who didn't want to be named, citing the rising prices for materials needed to produce garments.
A year ago, when the US and China were locked in a trade war, there was defiance on the streets of Guangzhou. This time, there is resignation.
Yet, a shift toward self-reliance is also unfolding as electric vehicle exports surge by 30%, signalling a pivot in China's manufacturing focus. The ongoing challenge for many workers remains the stagnation of wages against a backdrop of rising living costs.
While the war in the Middle East shifts dynamics, China continues to seek opportunities amid uncertainty, pointing towards a complex interplay of resilience and vulnerability within its economy.
