China | A load of cobblers

China’s shoemakers seem more sanguine than its politicians

A trade war will cause a lot of damage, but many have weathered storms before

Aerial view of three workers making shoe insoles at a factory in Buxia Village of Nanma Subdistrict in Yiyuan County, Zibo, east China's Shandong Province.
Hole in your insolePhotograph: Shutterstock
|QUANZHOU

Some 1,200 miles south of where government officials in Beijing have been breathing retaliatory fire at American tariffs lies the coastal province of Fujian. This is where the rubber of a million running shoes will hit the road as the tariffs take effect.

Explore more

This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “A load of old cobblers”

From the April 12th 2025 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Amid a trade war, Xi Jinping may be purging China’s armed forces

Why the tariff confrontation is not the only thing on his mind

China’s propagandists preach defiance in the trade war with America

The public seems on board, for now


Aerial view of tourists enjoying the autumn scenery among blooming pink grass at Sanqiao Wetland Park in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province of China.

Chinese officials are encouraging office workers not to work so hard

More free time means more consumption, they hope


China hawks are losing influence in Trumpworld, despite the trade war

“Restrainers” are taking over from “primacists”

Why are Chinese soldiers fighting in Ukraine?

They have been showing up on both sides of the battlefield throughout the war

To secure exports to Europe, China reconfigures its rail links

A new line will bypass its best friend, Russia