No Births, No Jobs, Foreign Capital Gone, Tech Blocked! 4 Huge Storms Hit China, Unseen in 40 Years

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:00]Recently, Nida, a Fortune 500 company with a 30-year presence in Donguan, announced that its Chan factory, the company's first facility in China, will seize production and operations entirely on May 30, 2026. The factory is currently in the process of preparing for closure. The company attributed to the shutdown to severe operational challenges resulting from ongoing external factors, making it impossible to return to its original production scale. Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, Nidek is a global leader in precision motor manufacturing, consistently holding the top position in the micro motor sector and playing a pivotal role in global supply chains.

[00:00:40]NIDc entered China in 1992 with the establishment of a production base in Dalian. It subsequently expanded its production and R&D systems in Donguan, Sudo, and Jojang, forming a relatively comprehensive manufacturing network across the country. Public records indicate that the Donguan factory primarily produced DC motors and precision motor components for computer peripherals. Mr. Jao, a labor intermediary in Chantown, Donguan, told reporters that at its peak, Nidiac employed thousands of workers. However, due to changes in the economic environment, the company has not been recruiting for the past year. As a long-established foreign enterprise, NIDc has promised to uphold its commitments, ensuring that employees receive legal economic compensation as part of its exit strategy. In contrast to the grand narrative of industrial developments promoted by the Chinese Communist Party, the comments in the online forums appear to be far more grounded in reality. Japanese, Korean, German, and Canadian companies along with all foreign invested enterprises are gradually shutting down their factories in China. As foreign companies move out, the downstream industries will follow. Soon, no one will be competing with us. It could be considered a win.

[00:01:51]Foreign enterprises are still the best, but they're being squeezed out by domestic capital. I worked at a foreign company for 11 years. They truly value their employees, and when they exit, they offer N plus1 compensation. Some are more concerned with one comment saying, "When foreign enterprises are gone and the ethical companies leave, all that will remain are sweat shops.

[00:02:12]Stop blindly supporting domestic brands or else we will be cutting off future generations and then it will be too late to regret it. Mr. Gal, a senior media professional from her bay, stated that the withdrawal of Japanese, European, and American companies from China has been ongoing for several years. Since Donald Trump's last term as US president, the relocation of Chinese manufacturing has become a regular trend. Japan's relationship with China has been tense over a decade, leading many Japanese companies to move their supply chains abroad. Nid is certainly not the last. This is not just about SinoJapanese relations, but part of a larger global supply chain restructuring. Chinese financial scholar Suling during an interview emphasized that NEC was a key project for attracting foreign investment in Donguan during China's early reform and opening period. However, in recent years, foreign companies, including Japanese firms, have been gradually withdrawing.

[00:03:07]Suling believes that the tensions in SinoJapanese relations have accelerated the departure of Japanese companies from China. The closure of Nidex Donguan factory signals that the policy environments for Japanese companies within China is undergoing significant change. At the same time, GAC Honda recently officially announced that its Hangpool factory in Guangzo, located in the Huangpool district will cease production and closed in June 2026. This factory, which began operations in 1999, has been in operation for 27 years and was Honda's first vehicle manufacturing base in China. Professor Yang Ha Ying from Suzoka University in Japan commented, "The business environment in China is becoming increasingly challenging with foreign companies facing more restrictions. If companies attempt to withdraw, they may encounter issues such as tax investigations which directly affect their decision-making."

[00:03:59]Let's take a look at some statistics. A recent survey by the Japan Chamber of Commerce in China showed that among the 1,427 Japanese invested companies surveyed, less than 1% of respondents believe the economic environment had improved. Over 40% of companies stated they would reduce or halt investments and some have already started evaluating the possibility of scaling back operations or withdrawing in stages. In fact, it's not just Japanese companies. As the commentar previously mentioned, German, American, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese companies are also relocating from China. Even Chinese companies are increasingly moving their factories to Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Thailand. Now, let's take a look at other frequently circulating messages online. The Jing Bao Electronics Factory established in Chan, Dong Wang in 1996 once a massive facility with tens of thousands of workers have officially announced its closure. The factory is now vacant and all production lines have been relocated to Thailand. Samsung has shifted its supply chain to Vietnam, halting its presence in all Chinese home appliance markets and relocating all of its factories to Southeast Asia. On April 20th, Hong Kong based Wang Toys abruptly shut down four factories in Yulin, Guani, leaving tens of thousands of workers unemployed overnight. In the video, a privateowned injection molding factory in Guangzo is packing up its equipment to be shipped to Vietnam.

[00:05:24]Helpless, the blogger captioned the post, "Today marks the end of the factory move. Those who don't follow the factory will be laid off. Many factories, large and small, in Guangzo are relocating." One Nison commented, "No matter how much money you make in this industry, it's never really yours because they're so ruthless that they drain everything." Others bluntly pointed out, "If one person doesn't want to be friends with you, it's their problem. But if a whole group of people doesn't want to be friends with you, then it's your problem." Another user was concerned. The next to be eliminated will be the leading industrial giants of the great nation. Without the advanced machinery, production equipment, instruments, technical materials, and parts from developed countries, industrial products cannot be made. One medicine left a sarcastically dark and bitter comment. After over 10 years of hard work, I finally made myself into foreign capital. Recently, a widely circulated article titled, "Four major storms China must face after 40 years," claimed that we are facing an unprecedented structural crisis. This isn't about selling anxiety. This is the reality happening right around us. The first of the four storms is called the real transfer of manufacturing. In recent years, the term supply chain relocation has been overly discussed in the media to the point where most people have become used to it. Just a few years ago, discussions among experts and ordinary citizens were still focused around questions such as will foreign companies relocate. And with Southeast Asia's poor infrastructure, they won't be able to move. But now as we reach 2026, if you ask the owners of factories in the Pearl River Delta and Young River Delta, many of whom have been in export processing for two or three decades, the topic has completely shifted. They are now privately discussing how much have you moved, what's still left in China?

[00:07:11]What has caused this substantial and accelerated shift? The author points out that the reasons are very practical. As China US trade tensions have intensified, the high tariffs have left many export dependent companies struggling. Previously, some savvy businesses adopted a curveball strategy, moving their factories to Vietnam or Thailand, but keeping the core production of key components and technology in China. They simply did basic assembly in Southeast Asia and slapped a made in Vietnam label on the products before exporting them. However, this route has now been completely blocked. International markets, especially US customs, have become extremely strict about origin reviews, even requiring detailed disclosures about the sourcing proportions of every single component. To survive and avoid punitive tariffs that can reach double digits or even tripledigit percentages, companies must move more substantial and core production processes out of China.

[00:08:05]This is no longer just a superficial change. It is a significant loss of productive capacity and a real transfer of jobs. At this point, some voices may rise to say, "What's the big deal? The industries moving out are the low-end sectors. Textiles, footwear, toys, basic electronics, assembly, factories. We're undergoing industrial upgrading, focusing on new energy, semiconductors, and the like. The shift of low-end industries is a historical inevitability. While this statement might be true from a macroeconomic perspective, it is only half true. Its crew reality lies in the fact that it uses a cold grand narrative to obscure the real price paid by millions of ordinary families during the painful period of transformation. China has hundreds of millions of ordinary workers who have low education, don't understand coding, and can't operate advanced CNC machines. Their livelihoods depend on these so-called low-end jobs. When a shoe factory in a county town shuts down, it may not even make a dent in national GDP figures. However, for the hundreds of female workers who have spent 10 years operating sewing machines, and for the hundreds of families behind them who need to pay mortgages or children's school fees, it feels like the end of the world. In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has boasted about the country's dominance in new energy vehicles and the photovoltaic industry under the guise of industrial upgrading. But it never mentions a brutal reality. These new industries simply don't generate jobs on the same scale as traditional manufacturing. A modern smart factory producing 100,000 electric vehicles per year, fully automated with robotic arms and AGVs may need fewer production line workers than a medium-sized garments factory. This creates a huge employment time gap and skills gap. Even more concerning is the loss of industrial cluster effects. The article notes that just 3 years ago, we were mocking Vietnam for not even being able to produce decent screws. But today, if you visit Bind Dong Province, you'll see the powerful pool of Samsung and Apple supply chains. Once an OEM factory is established, a large number of supporting enterprises can sprout within 3 to 5 years. The industrial cluster barriers that China spends 20 years building are not as unshakable as we thought. When the tide recedes and foreign companies leave, what kind of survival environments will be left for the countless lowincome workers? Let's take a look at the real stories of these workers on Do Yin. for just a few pieces of silver. Working from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Sitting for 12 hours straight while others are resting. I choose to work overtime. Although it's exhausting, I'm content because it guarantees that I have three meals a day. Behind this phrase, I'm content lies the hidden bitterness and compromises of so many adults. Back then, I was so headstrong that I didn't even care about the salary. If I couldn't tolerate a bit of pressure, I would immediately quit. But now, it's different. If I want to take a day off, I'm worried about losing that day's overtime pay. I suddenly realized that working in a factory now, earning 5,000 to 6,000 a month is actually a luxury. Within 30 days in a month, working 28 of them, and putting in 4 hours of overtime every day after deductions for meals and social security, the salary only ends up being a little over 4,000. Let's take a look at some of the suffocating real life experiences shared in the comment section. I just applied to a factory job working from 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

[00:11:25]with two shifts except for a 30-inute break for lunch. You're basically in the workshop all the time, not allowed to sit. You only get paid 10 minutes to drink water or go to the bathroom after working for 6 hours, are left without even getting paid. Shanghai is now full of hourly workers, no contracts, no social security, and they can fire you at any time. The 8-hour workday and 2-day weekends that the older generation fought for has now been turned into 12-hour shifts with rotating schedules.

[00:11:54]The capitalists exploiting workers in the textbooks turns out they're not some outsiders, they're our own people. If the hardships of factory workers are still hidden behind high walls, then the secondary disasters caused by factory relocations have already been laid bare on the streets and alleys of the city.

[00:12:11]This is the brutal multiplier effect in economics. Let's take a look at a video filmed in Sujo. The blogger captioned it, "After the factories moved out, many shops on the streets in Sujo have closed and rental homes are now vacant." This statement highlights an economic reality. Manufacturing is the lifeblood of the entire economy. The existence of a large factory with tens of thousands of employees does not just mean job opportunities for those workers. These 10,000 workers need to rent homes, which supports the landlords of dozens of nearby villages. They need to eat which supports local eeries, food stores and countless restaurants. They need haircuts, daily necessities and entertainment which sustains the vibrancy of nearby commercial streets.

[00:12:53]This is a tightly interconnected ecosystem when the source the factory shuts down or relocates. This vital flow of resources is suddenly cut off causing the entire service sector to collapse like a row of falling dominoes. This also explains why so many people now complain. It's getting harder and harder to make money and business is getting harder and harder to do. If the relocation of the supply chain and the decline of commercial streets are fully visible storms that we can see, then the next crisis is a silent undercurrent, one that is unfolding in people's hearts. This is the reversal of the population structure and along with it the collapse of the mental state of a significant portion of the younger generation. Let's look at some data. In recent years, China's annual birth rate has hovered around 9 million and the future projections are equally bleak.

[00:13:41]This means that from now on, the influx of new labor in the markets will continue to shrink while the aging population that needs support will continue to grow. Many people are puzzled as to why China's young people are so reluctant to have children. The answer is actually hidden in the factory videos we saw earlier. In the past, in order to achieve the most competitive pricing for Chinese products in international markets, businesses reduced wages, extended working hours, and built what is known as competitiveness. As a result, countless young people fell into the trap of 996, working from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. 6 days a week, or even 007, 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. They were so busy that they could barely keep up with their own lives, let alone think about relationships or starting a family. One netison remarked, "When you're working like a cow or a horse, how could you possibly bring another cow or horse into this world?" This statement sounds harsh, but it is merely the helpless grievances from the bottom tier workers about their reality. There is no such thing as getting it all in this world.

[00:14:41]You can't expect young people to work themselves to their limits in factories and offices like machines and then expect them to also be enthusiastic consumers and parents after work. Many older generations criticize today's young people for lacking responsibility and the ability to endure hardship. But are the younger generation really to blame? No. It is the malfunctioning incentive system within Chinese society as a whole. The previous generation was willing to endure hardship because it actually led to tangible rewards. A house, a car, and a promotion. That was a golden age where effort could guarantee real returns. But what's about today? As the upward climb becomes overcrowded and even stagnant, as competition in the job markets intensifies, with hundreds of people fighting for a single entry-level position, and as the outcomes of hard work become increasingly uncertain, rationally choosing not to put in effort has become many young people's way to protect themselves from being completely overwhelmed. This creates a vicious cycle. Worsening job conditions push young people to lie flat. As more people lie flat, the economy suffers decreased workforce and lower consumer activity, adding more pressure on the economy. A weakened economy in turn leads to even worse working environments, forcing more people to join the lying flat movements.

[00:15:54]Once this cycle begins, it is incredibly difficult to break. The author also highlights another storm on the horizon, the international environments. The geopolitical situation in 2026 can be summed up in four words, accelerated encirclements of China. The United States has increasingly tightened its strategic layout in the Indopacific region, creating a clear and comprehensive web around China in terms of supply chains and geopolitics. What's even more intense is the relentless tech blockade led by the United States.

[00:16:24]Semiconductor export controls are rapidly expanding. Now, not only are the most advanced photoiththography machines being blocked, but even maintenance paths for some mature processes are starting to face restrictions. When we bring these four storms together, we see that China is facing an unprecedented historical predicament. External pressures are at an all-time high while internally hidden risks are becoming more exposed with these two forces continuing to amplify each other. The relocation of manufacturing has intensified employment pressures which in turn further discourages birth rates.

[00:16:57]As birth rate declines, this weakens the future labor force and consumption potential. Meanwhile, the high pressure geopolitical environment demands breakthroughs in high-tech industries.

[00:17:07]However, such advancements rely heavily on a large pool of highly skilled young talent, and that talent pool is shrinking. This is a complex web of interconnected problems, where untangling any one element is not an easy task. But what makes this current storm particularly challenging is its cumulative nature. It's not a matter of solving one problem before another arises, but multiple fires are igniting simultaneously in all directions.