L ingering at a day market for labourers in Panyu, an urban village on the outskirts of Guangzhou, Ms Qiu looks dejected. She is looking for a local factory that will hire her for the day to sew clothes – cheap tops and dresses that will be churned out on to China’s e-commerce platforms, or bundled up for export to western shoppers. But she is not having much luck. Labubu underground: Lafufu makers defy Chinese authorities to feed the world’s appetite for viral doll Read more

“The whole industry is struggling, and now there is a high tariff on Chinese goods because of the trade war . Many foreign clients have decreased their orders from China,” she says, declining to give her first name.

Guangzhou, China’s southern metropolis and the capital of Guangdong province, is home to nearl

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