China’s Customs Confession: Export Crash Is Real — Industry Is Facing Total Shutdown

It's all covered in today's China Truths. The General Administration of Customs of the Communist Party of China admitted in a press release a few days ago that China's exports are indeed facing a complex and severe external situation, and the foreign trade industry even said that, the sky has fallen. A financial service provider in Shenzhen. You may not believe it, but many factories in Shenzhen can no longer hold on and will close down one after another. Why? The rent is high, there is overcapacity, and there are few foreign trade orders. Tariffs are rising, market competition is fierce, price wars are bloody, and profits are as thin as paper. Many factories have moved to Southeast Asia, and the people left in Shenzhen factories are all older people born in the 1970s and 1980s. Do you think Shenzhen factories still have a future? At present, factories and foreign trade markets across China are full of gloom and doom. From children's products to shoe factories, a large number of orders have been cancelled, companies have cleared their warehouses and sold off, and even directly closed down, dismissed workers, and forced workers to return home. Internet blogger. It's over, it's over. People's lives are getting harder and harder. The United States has completely blocked China. There is no hope for exports. 99% of companies doing foreign trade will go bankrupt. There are also many workers who rely on foreign trade who are unemployed. Current affairs commentator Li Linyi said that figuratively, the increase in exports caused by the rush to ship in March in mainland China is a bit like a last gasp. In fact, China's foreign trade has basically collapsed. It is generally believed that China and the United States are entering a long-lasting economic confrontation that may affect the financial and technological fields. China's manufacturing exports have been hit, and unemployment and collapsing confidence are spreading rapidly, while the future of Sino-US trade is full of variables. Dongguan's 18-year-old export company lost all orders and the factory shut down. An 18-year-old export manufacturing company in Dongguan, Guangdong, recently issued a notice stating that due to changes in the external economic environment, such as the US tariff increase, production orders have been suspended, and the factory will be closed for one month from April 11. Multiple reports show that US-China trade is currently in a de facto shutdown stage. Recently, the cross-border e-commerce industry media Cellars Home and the comprehensive information service platform Special Plastic Vision, focusing on the plastics industry, reported that the 18-year-old Dongguan Dehong Electric Products Co. Ltd. recently issued a notice to employees stating that due to recent changes in the external economic environment, such as the US tariff increase, the company had to face some emergencies. Dehong Electric stated in the notice that due to recent changes in the external economic environment, such as the US tariff increase, the company had to face some emergencies. Affected by this, the company received a notice from a customer that production orders are now suspended and will be renegotiated with the customer after price adjustments. Dehong Electric is facing great pressure in its business operations in the short term. The notice stated that the management of Dehong Electric decided to take a month off starting from April 11, and subsequent arrangements will be notified separately according to the actual situation. During the holiday, employees will be paid basic wages in accordance with the labor law. If employees choose to resign, the company will settle their wages immediately. Dongguan Dehong Electric Products, founded in 2007, specializes in R&D, manufacturing and sales of household appliances, with all products exported to Europe and the US. Due to high tariffs from both countries, Sino-US trade is now effectively suspended. If tensions continue without negotiations, more trade routes and factories may shut down. As China escalates retaliatory tariffs, the trade war intensifies. With the May Day holiday nearing, millions of foreign trade factories, especially in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Guangdong, face a wave of closures and nearly zero US orders. According to videos on Douyin, over 50% of Zhejiang's foreign trade companies will halt operations for extended holidays. This trend has spread to major export hubs like Suzhou and Dongguan, reflecting the deep freeze in China's export sector. Zhejiang, a key export province, now faces severe challenges, with unsold inventory and plunging orders forcing widespread shutdowns and reduced hours, conditions echoed in Suzhou and Dongguan. Yiwu, Zhejiang, as the province's largest export base, has been particularly hard hit by the US-China tax war. Mr. Fan, the former boss of a factory in Yiwu, told the Epoch Times, Now, there are no orders for export to the United States. The economic environment was originally bad, and we have to retaliate against the United States. All walks of life in Yiwu have been affected. Many people are pessimistic and panic about the Chinese economy. In a warehouse covering an area of 20,000 square meters in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, unsaleable goods for export are piled up like mountains. A videographer lamented in the video that goods that can be sold for tens of dollars in the United States are now sold for only a few dollars. The tariff war has caused a lot of foreign trade-tail goods. Any piece of clothing here can be sold for 100 yuan in the United States. Now it is sold in tons, and the average price of one piece is a few cents. No one is buying it. This is a 20,000 square meter foreign trade warehouse in Jiaxing. Affected by tariffs, exported goods have become tail goods. Exported crocks are sold for a few cents, a pair, and Zhang Xiaokuan knives are sold in tons, and the average price of one piece is a few cents. There is no way to survive. Chen Xiang, who used to manage foreign trade factories in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Guangdong, recently told Radio Free Asia that Zhejiang is a major foreign trade province in China, and its exports will account for 70% of the province's GDP in 2024. He said, I have worked in the manufacturing industry for more than 10 years, so I am very clear about the positive proportional relationship between China's population and the manufacturing industry. So this economic situation can be said to be unprecedented in decades. In February 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed replacing the EB-5 investment immigration program with the Trump Gold Card, priced at $5 million, granting permanent U.S. residency to those who purchase it. Trump announced, We're going to start selling the gold card. You have the green card, but this is the gold card. The price will be around $5 million, and it will grant the holder permanent residency, along with a pathway to U.S. citizenship. As soon as the news broke, it immediately attracted public attention. Many Chinese citizens who have long suffered under the oppressive Chinese government saw this as a beacon of hope and responded swiftly. Man, a major event is happening today. In Shanghai and Guangzhou, people are lining up overnight to get their passports. Every family is making preparations to leave the country. The U.S. consulates and immigration offices in these two cities are nearly overwhelmed. Guess where they're all heading? To the U.S., because Trump has launched a $5 million gold card program worldwide. Right now, 250,000 people across the globe are lining up to get the U.S. gold card. It takes as little as one year to obtain permanent U.S. residency, and if one resides continuously for 2.5 years, the gold card can be converted into a U.S. passport. This falls under the EB-1A special talent visa category. As this news spread, Shanghai and Guangzhou erupted in excitement, with massive crowds rushing to apply for passports. Here's a scene outside the U.S. consulate in Shanghai, a long line of people waiting for visa applications. Inside Shanghai's immigration office, the place is packed with applicants. Woman, I have an urgent update regarding U.S. visa appointment availability. As of now, all July interview slots in Shanghai have been fully booked, and no new slots are currently available. So if you log in to the U.S. visa appointment system today, you won't see any available slots. This means that if you plan to travel to the U.S. in July or August, your only option is to try securing an emergency appointment. If you intend to go between September and December, you should quickly complete the DS-160 form and keep checking for new appointment openings to secure your interview as soon as possible. Due to the overwhelming number of people in Shanghai looking to immigrate to the U.S., this situation has unfolded. Man, guys, I won't hide it anymore. I'll just say it straight. A few days ago, there were still available slots for U.S. visa interviews in Shanghai, though the wait time was long, stretching into July. But now, there are no more open slots. The last time this happened was two years ago. Now we can only wait for new appointment openings. Even my clients are waiting to secure an appointment. Woman, this is terrifying. According to the latest data from the Civil Aviation Administration, in just one quarter of this year, the number of entries and exits through Shanghai Pudong Airport has exceeded 6.8 million. Among them, fewer than 1.5 million were foreign nationals entering China, which means the vast majority were domestic residents leaving. It seems like a new wave of emigration is on the rise. This online user has pointed out the reason why the emigration trend in Shanghai is heating up like never before. Woman, 380,000 Shanghai residents are currently in line to leave the country, and what's notable is that they all share the same goal. Right now, foreign consulates in China are overwhelmed due to the sheer number of visa applicants. The main reason? Immigration requirements have become much easier, especially for residents of major cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou. As long as one can provide financial proof of around 1 to 2 million RMB, they can secure a second residency permit for their entire family. This allows them not only visa-free access to 29 European countries, but also 14 years of free education for their children, an easier pathway to university, and even a secure retirement plan for the future. It's not just Shanghai. Guangzhou residents are also flocking to the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou to apply for visas. Man, this bustling scene is happening in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, right in front of the U.S. consulate. The atmosphere is incredibly lively. Long but orderly queues stretch down the street. Almost everyone is carrying a small folder or a bag of documents, preparing for their visa application process. Even in Beijing, a massive number of residents are queuing up for immigration procedures. This is the scene in front of the U.S. embassy in Beijing at 6 a.m., with an estimated 4,000 people waiting in line. Man, it's now 5.50 a.m., and I'm at the subway station in Beijing, getting ready to go apply for my visa. Here are all my documents. Today I even deliberately wore a hoodie that says San Francisco, hoping for some good luck. I've been waiting for 9 months since I applied for my visa, and my turn has finally come. I was so nervous last night that I couldn't sleep. I really hope I pass the interview. Let's go. It's still pitch dark outside, and I just rented a public bike. Ha ha, riding to the U.S. embassy for my visa appointment. Fingers crossed, I'm determined. Outside the U.S. embassy, even the baggage storage area has a long queue. Look at this, I got my visa. Now I can finally buy my plane ticket. Coming U.S. This reflects the true attitude of many Chinese people toward emigration. Man, do you guys know, right now just the demand for U.S. visas alone is sustaining half of the tourism industry. More than half of the tourism sector survives because of the U.S. visa application process. I can't even count how many people have told me that they've traveled to Europe, Australia, or the U.K. But when they encounter a Chinese tour group, 99% of them are only traveling to prepare for their future U.S. visa application. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. We will keep reporting on the COVID surge in China, so don't forget to subscribe to our channel and turn on the notification bell to get the latest videos. And thank you for tuning in.