https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=DZJdNsuxI6EIn China’s export-driven economy, “Made in China” has long been associated with low cost and high efficiency. But behind this pricing advantage lies a system where millions of workers are subjected to relentless 12-hour shifts under high-pressure conditions.
Many factories operate under a “two-shift” model—day and night rotations of 12-hour workdays. With wages calculated per piece, workers must produce at volumes 10 to 15 times greater than their Western counterparts just to maintain a basic standard of living. “If you don’t work like crazy, you simply can’t survive,” said a worker from Guangdong.
The cheap goods created under this exploitative model are then exported in bulk to markets in Europe and the U.S. Meanwhile, inside China, factory owners enjoy substantial profits while working with local authorities to shape a narrative that diverts worker frustration. Messages like “We suffer because the Americans are suppressing China” are commonly repeated inside factory walls. Some factories even organize “political study” sessions to reinforce the idea that external enemies—particularly the U.S.—are the source of economic hardship, not internal policies or employer behavior.
This propaganda tactic is not new. Since Mao Zedong’s era, the image of the U.S. has gradually been framed as a hostile force. However, historically, before the Communist takeover, relations between China and the U.S. were very friendly. In the early 20th century, many Chinese students studied abroad in America, and the U.S. offered China assistance in education, healthcare, and industry. During World War II, the American “Flying Tigers” even fought alongside Chinese forces against Japan. But today, such history has largely been erased from public view.
As a result, ordinary American consumers are now unwittingly portrayed as moral oppressors of the Chinese people, while the real beneficiaries of the system—factory owners and their allies in the government—sit atop vast profits. Many businesses avoid paying employer-side social insurance contributions, further reducing labor costs. A portion of those profits then circulates back into the state-controlled financial system through taxes and debt payments, creating a kind of “fiscal closed loop”: the laborer’s effort ultimately feeds back into the very system that exploits them.
Meanwhile, the lowest-paid workers find themselves trapped—caught between political messaging, economic pressure, and lack of alternatives. They are left with no real choice, and no voice.