SHANGHAI/GUANGZHOU – Amid the chaos of erratic US tariff announcements, Chinese exporters making everything from kitchen appliances to Halloween decorations have responded by selling more goods to buyers in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

Jacky Ren, whose Gstar Electronics Appliance factory used to generate more than 60% of its revenue from US orders, says he has “given up” on the American market.

Months of tit-for-tat tariff escalations, de-escalations, a brief truce, and the latest threat of a triple-digit tariff increase on Chinese goods from US President Donald Trump in retaliation for Chinese curbs on rare earths exports, have left Ren feeling “extremely exhausted”, and he is seeking out new markets to offset lost orders from US customers.

Ren is not alone. Chinese customs data released this week showed exports from the world’s second-largest economy have grown 7.1% to 19.95 trillion yuan ($2.80 trillion) in the first nine months of this year, despite a significant drop in goods heading to the United States.

This growth is expected to help China demonstrate the resilience of its economy in the face of geopolitical and trade upheaval when it announces third-quarter GDP data on Monday.

Still, Chinese exporters aren’t exactly happy with the situation, even though they have found new markets.

“In this environment, where global consumption [of our products] is not enough to replace US demand, our order volume and revenue have plummeted by half,” said Lou Xiaobo, who makes Halloween decorations in eastern China and is in Brazil on a market research trip as he looks to sell more to Latin America.

As China’s entire export-oriented manufacturing sector has pivoted almost simultaneously, competition has eroded prices, making it more difficult for manufacturers to make ends meet.

“Losing access to the United States, which is the largest consumer market, is akin to the rail industry losing the locomotive,” Ren said, adding that it’s becoming increasingly common for exporters to sell at a loss.

“Every market is highly competitive … all we can do is hold on and wait for an opportunity.”

‘US BUYERS GAVE UP’
On Wednesday, the bustling opening day of the autumn edition of southern China’s Canton Fair in Guangzhou – the world’s largest trade show – all 15 companies Reuters spoke with said they had seen no US buyers. Most noted an uptick in attendees from Brazil, Southeast Asia and Europe. All said they were prioritizing market diversification.

“The situation’s too unstable. (Trump’s) like a child – crying one minute, laughing the next. You can’t play along with that,” said Cherry Yuan, overseas sales manager at Foshan Greenyellow Electric Technology, a maker of mosquito trapping equipment.

Cai Jing, who runs a travel mug company started by her mother and uncle in 1998 that recently started making personal blenders, said export manufacturers have little choice.

It hasn’t been the decision of Chinese exporters to abandon the US market, Cai said.

“Sales to the US have dropped a lot, by around half. It’s not that we’re giving up on the US market. It’s that US buyers gave up on us.” — Reuters

LIMA — At least one person was killed and dozens of police officers injured in widespread protests overnight in Peru against President Jose Jeri, who assumed power just days ago, the state ombudsman’s office said on Thursday.

The protest on Wednesday night, called by young Gen Z protesters, transport workers and civil groups, was the latest in a series of demonstrations against corruption and rising crime, which led to the dramatic midnight ouster of former President Dina Boluarte last Thursday.

Thousands of protesters amassed around the country, with hundreds clashing with police outside Congress in Lima. Police fired tear gas while some protesters hurled fireworks, rocks and burning objects.

“Everyone must go!” protesters chanted when they reached Congress and tried to tear down metal barriers protecting the building, leading to clashes.

A 32-year-old man, Eduardo Mauricio Ruiz, was killed during the protest and his death will be investigated, said Fernando Losada, a representative from the country’s Ombudsman’s office.

Peru’s prosecutor’s office said Ruiz died after being shot.

Later on Thursday, the head of Peru’s national police (PNP), Oscar Arriola told reporters that Luis Magallanes, a member of the PNP, had been physically assaulted and carried out the shooting. Arriola added that the Magallanes was being treated at the hospital and had been removed from his duties.

Jeri expressed regret over the death in a post on X, saying the death would be “objectively” investigated. He blamed violence on “delinquents who infiltrated a peaceful demonstration to sow chaos.”

“The full force of the law will be on them,” he wrote.

After attending a meeting about the protests at Congress Thursday afternoon, Jeri told reporters he would ask Congress for “authority to legislate on public safety issues.”

Jeri said one focus would be prison reform, but did not elaborate on what those powers would entail.

Speaking to Congress soon after, newly appointed Interior Minister Vicente Tiburcio, said the government would push for comprehensive reform to the national police, adding that 89 police and 22 civilians had been injured during the protest and 11 people were detained.

The interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the police reform or Jeri’s request for expanded legislative powers.

Wednesday’s protests were a bellwether for how Jeri’s short-lived presidency, which ends next July due to scheduled elections, could play out.

Jeri, 38, has promised to make crime his top priority, but has faced a number of scandals himself, including corruption allegations and a now-shelved investigation for sexual assault. Jeri has denied wrongdoing in both cases and expressed willingness to cooperate with any corruption investigation.

Boluarte faced widespread protests after she assumed power in late 2022, leading to dozens of deaths and a plunge in her popularity levels, which oscillated between 2% and 4% in the days leading up to her ouster.

Congress – which was headed by Jeri before he became president – is almost equally unpopular with a single-digit approval rating.— Reuters