Geng’s story is not unique. Hundreds of millions flocked to coastal factories after former leader Deng Xiaoping opened up the country to foreign investors in 1979 and set up four special economic zones – Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou in Guangdong province, and Xiamen in the neighbouring province of Fujian.
Low-cost Chinese products were shipped worldwide as masses of labourers worked hard to turn the nation from an underdeveloped agrarian state into a manufacturing centre dubbed “the world’s factory”.
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Fewer jobs and less pay: Chinese migrant workers continue to face uncertainty after country reopens
Fewer jobs and less pay: Chinese migrant workers continue to face uncertainty after country reopens
This grew China’s economy at breakneck speed and lifted a record number of people out of poverty. In 2009, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, “The Chinese…
