HONG KONG/SEOUL/SHANGHAI — The U.S. Postal Service said on Wednesday it would accept parcels from China and Hong Kong, in a U-turn after a suspension following President Donald Trump ending a trade provision used by retailers including Temu, Shein, and Amazon AMZN.O to ship low-value packages duty-free to the U.S. 

“The USPS and Customs and Border Protection are working closely together to implement an efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs to ensure the least disruption to package delivery,” it said in a statement. 

The Trump administration imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods and closed the “de minimis” exemption that allows U.S. shoppers to avoid paying tariffs for shipments below $800 from China. 

USPS did not immediately comment on whether its temporary suspension had been tied to Trump’s order ending de minimis shipments from China, which was announced on Saturday and came into force from one minute past midnight on Tuesday. 

“There has really been absolutely zero time for anyone to prepare for this,” said Maureen Cori, co-founder at New York-based consultancy Supply Chain Compliance. “What we really need is direction from the government on how to handle this without warning or notice.” 

Currently, de minimis parcels are consolidated so that customs can clear hundreds or thousands of shipments at once, but they will now require individual clearances, significantly increasing the burden for postal services, brokers and customs agents, said Cori.
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U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are set soon to hold a high-stakes phone call on the tit-for-tat tariffs each has imposed on the other country’s exports.

Trump’s new 10% tariff on Chinese goods took effect at midnight Monday, with China quickly announcing it would impose 15% tariffs on U.S. coal and liquified natural gas, as well as 10% tariffs on crude oil, agricultural machinery and some automobiles.

Trump on Monday retreated for a month from imposing 25% tariffs on most exports from the United States’ other top-three trading partners, Mexico and Canada. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to increase efforts to curb the flow of fentanyl, the deadly opioid that has killed several hundred thousand Americans over recent years.

Trump said he imposed the tariff on Chinese exports to pressure China to take action to prevent fentanyl smuggling into the U.S., which identified China as a major source of the precursor chemicals used by Mexican drug cartels to manufacture fentanyl.

China said it has taken steps to crack down on the industry and other illicit drug trade.

“China hopefully is going to stop sending us fentanyl, and if they’re not, the tariffs are going to go substantially higher,” Trump said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump’s call with Xi “is being scheduled and will happen very soon.”

The U.S. and China, the world’s two biggest economies, engaged in an escalating trade war in 2018 during Trump’s first term in office when he repeatedly raised tariffs on Chinese goods, and Beijing responded each time.

This time, China is much better prepared, analysts say. The country announced numerous measures that go beyond tariffs and cut across different sectors of the U.S. economy. China is also more wary of upsetting its own fragile and heavily trade-dependent economy.

China’s tariffs and other moves

China’s State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement announcing its levy on U.S. products, “The U.S.’s unilateral tariff increase seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization. It is not only unhelpful in solving its own problems, but also damages normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the U.S.”

But the impact on U.S. exports could be limited. Although the U.S. worldwide is the biggest exporter of liquid natural gas, it does not export much to China. In 2023, the U.S. exported 173,247 million cubic feet of LNG to China, about 2.3% of its total natural gas exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

China imported fewer than 110,000 vehicles from the U.S. last year, although auto market analyst Lei Xing told The Associated Press that the tariffs could be painful for General Motors, which is adding the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon to its China lineup, and for Ford, which exports the Mustang and F-150 Raptor pickup.

In addition to the tariff hike, China announced export controls on several elements critical to the production of modern high-tech products.

They include tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium, many of which are designated as critical minerals by the U.S. Geological Survey, meaning they are essential to U.S. economic or national security that have supply chains vulnerable to disruption. The export controls are in addition to ones China placed in December on such key elements as gallium.

The Commerce Ministry also placed two American companies on an unreliable entities list: PVH Group, which owns clothing companies Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and Illumina, which is a biotechnology company with offices in China.

The listing could bar them from engaging in China-related import or export activities and from making new investments in the country. The ministry said its investigations show the two U.S. companies have “disrupted normal business with Chinese companies, taken discriminatory measures against Chinese companies and severely harmed the legitimate rights of Chinese companies.”

Beijing began investigating PVH Group in September 2024 over what it described as “improper Xinjiang-related behavior” after the company allegedly boycotted the use of Xinjiang cotton.

Illumina competes with the Chinese biotech firm BGI in gene-sequencing.

In a statement, Illumina said it complies with regulations wherever it operates.

“We are assessing this announcement with the goal of finding a positive resolution,” the company said.

Mexico and Canada tariffs

On Monday, Sheinbaum said she would dispatch 10,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to try to curb the flow of drugs into the United States. 

“Mexico will reinforce the northern border … to stop drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, in particular fentanyl,” she posted on X after talking with Trump. “The United States commits to work to stop the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico.”

Trudeau said Canada would deploy new technology and personnel along its southern border with the United States to stop the flow of fentanyl.

“I just had a good call with President Trump,” Trudeau said on X. “Proposed tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days while we work together.”

Effects on US consumers

Trump acknowledged Sunday that the new tariffs on the three biggest U.S. trading partners could hit inflation-weary Americans with higher prices for groceries, gasoline, cars and other consumer goods but said the higher tariffs would be “worth the price” to bolster U.S. interests.

U.S. consumers could face higher prices because companies that pay the tariffs to the federal government to import goods from other countries often pass on at least part, if not all, of their higher costs to consumers, rather than absorb the extra expenses themselves.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Gaborone, Botswana — The government of Botswana and South African diamond firm De Beers say they have reached a new, 10-year sales agreement following talks that had dragged on since 2019. Analysts say the diamond industry is sure to welcome the deal, as Botswana, after Russia, is the world’s second-largest producer of diamonds.

Under terms of the new agreement, Botswana’s government will be allowed to sell 30% of rough diamonds mined through a joint mining venture with De Beers.

The share rises to 50% by the end of the deal in 2035.

Botswana hopes that will reverse a decline in diamond revenue. The government once received $7 billion a year through De Beers, but that figure declined to $4.2 billion in 2023, amid falling diamond sales worldwide.

Addressing journalists on Monday, De Beers CEO Al Cook applauded the new government for ensuring a smooth conclusion to the talks.

Under the previous government, negotiations were often tense, with former President Mokgweetsi Masisi threatening to sever ties with De Beers.

The talks made more progress once President Duma Boko took over in November.

Elodie Daguzan, executive director at the World Diamond Council (WDC), told VOA the organization is happy to see the sides finally reach a deal.

“The World Diamond Council is thrilled about this development which underscores the importance of long-term, stable partnerships in the diamond sector. Botswana has been a leading example of how responsible diamond mining, through successful collaboration with the private sector, can drive sustainable growth,” she said.

Daguzan said the agreement will bolster an industry beset by challenges that include consumer worries over so-called “blood diamonds” and overall cautious consumer spending.

“We believe it will provide much-needed confidence to members of our industry, who are currently navigating a particularly challenging market and seeking signs of stability. At WDC, we remain committed to supporting frameworks that ensure the ethical sourcing, transparency and the continued contribution of diamonds to the well-being of producing nations and communities,” she said.

Hans Merket, a researcher on diamond mining, says it was imperative for Botswana and De Beers to reach an agreement, considering the global supply chain disruptions caused by sanctions on Russian diamonds.

“This agreement between the world’s largest diamond producer after Russia, will therefore be seen as a welcome development, not only to both parties but by the industry at large. Hopefully, it will enable the sector to continue advancing a more positive narrative with diamonds contributing to development and well-being, offering a clear alternative to sanctioned stones from Russia,” he said.

Botswana’s Minister of Minerals, Bogolo Kenewendo, said her government and De Beers will officially sign the agreement before the end of February.

At the end of the new agreement in 2035, there is an option for a five-year renewal.
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New Delhi — With trade likely to emerge as the most contentious issue between India and the United States, New Delhi has signaled that it is moving to allay concerns of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has named India among countries that impose high tariffs.

The government will cut duties on a range of imports that could help increase American imports to India. Those include high end motorcycles and cars potentially benefiting American companies like Harley Davidson.

During an address to Republican lawmakers last week, Trump called India, along with China and Brazil, “tremendous tariff makers.” and pledged to put tariffs on countries that harm U.S. interests. He also had called India a “very big abuser of tariffs,” during his election campaign.

In a phone call between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last Monday, the American president had stressed the importance of India moving toward a “fair bilateral trading relationship,” according to a White House statement.

With the United States being India’s largest trading partner, the threat of tariffs is a huge concern for New Delhi. Bilateral trade between the two countries in 2023 totaled almost $120 billion, with a surplus of $30 billion in India’s favor.

“These latest reductions in tariffs signal a policy shift that could enhance U.S. exports in sectors such as automobiles, technology and some components for the space sector,” according to Ajay Srivastava, founder of Global Trade Research Initiative, a think tank based in Delhi. “However, U.S. is a small exporter of these items to India so the benefits to American companies may not be huge.”

Trade is expected to be one of the top issues that will be discussed between Indian Prime Minister Modi and Trump, who are expected to meet this month.

“We don’t want to give anybody any signal that we would like to be protectionist,” Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey told Reuters after the cut in duties was announced during India’s annual budget presentation on Saturday. “Our stance is that we don’t want to increase protection.”

But analysts say India’s tariff cuts are unlikely to allay the concerns of the Trump administration, which wants New Delhi to open its markets for a range of goods such as farm products, steel and oil. India’s average tariffs are much higher compared to countries like Japan and China.

The close strategic partnership that India and the U.S. have built in recent years may not stave off friction on trade issues, say analysts.

“Lowering some tariffs is the symbolic approach. We have made some gestures but nowhere near what would satisfy Trump,” according to Manoj Joshi, distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. “On tariffs, I think the U.S. will put more pressure — after all, if Trump did not carve out exceptions for allies like Canada, why will he do it with India,” he questioned.

In his last week’s phone conversation with Modi, Trump also said that India should be increasing its “procurement of American-made security equipment.”

India has been the world’s largest arms importer in recent years, spending billions of dollars to modernize its military. While Russia was its biggest supplier for decades, Western countries such as France and the United States are now emerging as key suppliers.

“There is scope for India to buy more weapons from the U.S. of which fighter jets could be a component,” according to defense analyst Rahul Bedi. “That would help lower the trade tensions.”

India is in “wait and watch mode” after Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, say analysts.

“The global trade environment has been plunged into uncertainty. We will just have to wait and see what actions are taken by Mr. Trump vis a vis India,” pointed out trade expert Srivastava. “India will adjust where it can, but it is totally uncharted territory and nobody can really plan for it.”

Friction on trade also erupted during Trump’s previous term as president when he terminated India’s designation as a developing nation that had allowed businesses to export hundreds of products duty-free to the United States. India had retaliated by raising duties on some American products.
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U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that Americans may face economic “pain” because of new tariffs he is imposing on the country’s three biggest trading partners —Canada, China and Mexico — but contended that it would be “worth the price” to bolster U.S. interests.

Despite sharing a free-trade pact he negotiated with Canada and Mexico in his first term in office, Trump on Saturday imposed 25% tariffs on the two countries set to take effect Tuesday, and hit China with a new 10% levy in addition to already enacted tariffs.

Trump claimed the three countries were not doing enough to halt illegal immigration and the deadly opioid fentanyl from entering the United States.

In Truth Social posts early Sunday, Trump acknowledged American consumers could face higher prices because of the tariffs. U.S. companies that pay the tariffs to the federal government to import goods from other countries then often pass on at least part, if not all, of their higher costs to consumers rather than absorb their extra expenses themselves.

But Trump aimed most of his comments at Canada, targeting one of the U.S.’s closest allies. The U.S. Census Bureau said the U.S. had a $55 billion trade deficit with Canada last year.

“Why? There is no reason,” Trump contended. “We don’t need anything they have. We have unlimited Energy, should make our own Cars, and have more Lumber than we can ever use.”

“Without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable Country. Harsh but true! Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State. Much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of Canada — AND NO TARIFFS!” Trump said.
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More ships than ever are being abandoned around the world by their owners, according to the United Nations’ labor and maritime organizations, leaving thousands of workers stuck on board without pay or the means to travel home to their families.

Cases have doubled in the past three years, impacting more than 3,000 seafarers across some 230 ships in 2024, according to an Associated Press analysis of U.N. data. Last year’s figures could rise even further given the time that can elapse before vulnerable, frustrated workers reach out to report their plight.

By international guidelines, workers are considered abandoned if shipowners fail to pay two or more months of wages, provide basic supplies or otherwise stop communicating with the crew.

“The only leverage seafarers have sometimes is to stay on a vessel until they get paid,” said Helen Meldrum, a ship inspector with the International Transport Workers’ Federation, which advocates for ship workers’ rights.

It’s a phenomenon rarely visible from shore, and one hitting hardest the smaller shipping companies servicing less profitable trade routes. Many crews reporting a lack of pay are on corroded ships, built decades ago. The top countries for cases last year were the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The worst cases have seen entire crews suffering weeks without adequate food or fresh water — or living on dark ships without electricity. Some workers languish on board for years, such as Abdul Nasser Saleh, whom The Associated Press profiled last year in a story exploring abandonment in U.S. ports and abroad.

The AP found that shipowners often stopped paying workers when their costs skyrocketed, or business dried up. Owners commonly left ships docked in ports where crews lacked immigration paperwork to step foot on land or at anchorages only reachable by boat.

The number of abandonment cases in 2024 surpassed the earlier record set in 2023.

Governments and organizations like Meldrum’s can report abandoned ships to the U.N., which verifies the basic facts and petitions the owner and relevant authorities to find a resolution.

Meldrum has recently been appealing to authorities for help getting proper food, fuel and back-pay for crews on three cargo ships run by a company called Friends Shipping. Workers on board the Sister 12, now moored off the coast of Yemen, have been confined to the ship for more than a year without receiving a paycheck, according to her review.

“They’re essentially imprisoned on these vessels,” Meldrum said. “It goes way beyond exploitation.”

Abdul Razzaq Abdul Khaliq, a Syrian sailor on board the Sister 12, wrote to AP over WhatsApp that the ship was full of insects and the crew had to use seawater for bathing. Photos and videos he shared show the faucets spewing cloudy brown water, rust blanketing the deck and only a few rotting pieces of produce in the pantry.

“(T)here is no food on the ship, there is no water, there is no life,” he wrote.

Friends Shipping, which has offices in Turkey and Dubai, has a pattern of abandonment linked to its fleet. Nineteen of the 22 ships listed on its website have been named in abandonment cases, according to U.N. data, though some of those ships may have since been sold. The company boasts a slogan of “We Make the World Smaller.”

Meldrum said Friends Shipping hires workers who are unaware of the company’s reputation, then leaves them in such dire conditions that many are willing to go home at the first chance — even without pay. A new crew will be staffed, and the same thing happens, she said.

Friends Shipping didn’t respond to AP’s questions about abandonment of their fleet or the welfare of their crews. A person who responded to messages sent to the company’s WhatsApp number in Turkey said that provisions were supplied to the crew on the Sister 12 and all workers on the ship would be disembarked, without providing details.

Despite global treaties on labor rights, there are few avenues for holding owners accountable in an industry where ships are often registered under nondescript shell companies and fly the flags of countries unrelated to their operations.

Flag registries are expected to act as first responders to help repatriate seafarers and ensure they have food and medical care, according to U.N. guidelines. A decade-old amendment to the Maritime Labor Convention signed by more than 90 nations also requires the flag states to vouch for the ships they register by requiring insurance to cover several months of wages if business goes south.

AP’s reporting found many flag states still don’t intervene. Panama, Palau and Tanzania each registered dozens of the ships reported as abandoned in 2024.

The yearslong rise in abandonment cases could mean more seafarers are becoming willing to report abuse by their employers, but the overall figures likely underestimate the true picture of worker exploitation at sea. Cases first spiked amid the global pandemic and have kept rising as shipowners are pinched by inflation and other rising costs.

The ITF, the group that advocates for workers, said it helped workers recover more than $10 million in back pay last year. Inspectors were still fighting for another $10 million they say is owed. 
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washington — White House press secretary Karoline Levitt announced Friday that President Donald Trump would be implementing 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods and a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports on Saturday.  

Consumers told VOA they were bracing for the possible impact of increased costs. 

“I’m concerned about rising prices,” Yon Bui, a student of music and computer science at Middlebury College in Vermont, said in an interview Thursday. 

Bui said that while it might still be too early to tell what the impact could be, she has been considering purchasing costly items, such as expensive cosmetics that she buys sometimes, from China. She also said she needed a new phone. 

 

Bui said she would “buy products now before they go up in price to a point where they’d become unaffordable.”  

 

Sean Liu, who lives in Virginia, told VOA that he was glad he’d recently decided to buy a new phone and car.

“With things that are already really expensive, if you add another 10% to their price – it’s not like, say, buying a thermos and adding another 10% – this kind of price hike is truly big,” he said.  

He did add, though, that it might be a little easier to deal with if the tariffs came alongside lower prices for more basic necessities like groceries and gas.

‘One very big power’

On the campaign trail, Trump threatened tariffs as high as 60% on China. Since taking office, those threats have expanded and include everything from a universal tariff to threats against trade partners and rivals such as China and Russia.

Last week, Trump threatened Colombia with tariffs of 25% to 50% to get Bogota to accept deportation flights.

On China, Trump recently told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that tariffs were the “one very big power” the U.S. has over China.  

 

“They don’t want them, and I’d rather not have to use it,” Trump said.  

 

The 10% tariff on all Chinese imports is part of what Trump says is a punitive response to China’s role in manufacturing precursor chemicals essential to fentanyl production in Mexico.

Currently, the United States targets China with a 100% tariff on electric vehicles, a 50% tariff on solar cells and semiconductors, a 25% tariff on critical minerals needed to make certain advanced batteries and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum.

New tariffs would build on more than $300 billion worth of taxes on Chinese imports that Trump imposed during his first term. Those tariffs were upheld and, in some cases, advanced under former President Joe Biden. 

Who will feel impact? 

 

Some analysts question who will be hurt if these tariffs are implemented. Some say the deep economic ties between China and the United States could mean that American consumers will be the ones bearing the brunt of Trump’s punishment on Beijing. 

 

Supporters, however, see the move as a fulfillment of Trump’s promise to put American lives and livelihoods first — particularly when it comes to stopping the flow of fentanyl into the country.   

 

According to William Reinsch, senior adviser of the economics program and Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the tariff likely would raise prices of goods in America. 

 

“The prices on a lot of things that people buy at retail — apparel, footwear, household goods – things like that will be affected. Ten percent is not huge, but it’s not zero either,” Reinsch said. 

 

Costs and benefits 

 

Trump has pushed back against the argument that tariffs drive inflation higher and said instead that tariffs would make America rich. 

Liu Longzhu, a California lawyer and delegate at the 2024 Republican National Convention, sees tariffs as the key to recovering America’s economic strength. 

 

“The main purpose of increasing tariffs is to assure that America is truly ‘America First’ and protect American jobs. If you are looking for a job, they are beneficial to you. If the tariffs are increased, Chinese products will lose their competitiveness, and American products will become more competitive. This will make it easier for Americans to find jobs,” Liu said. 

 

James Galbraith, an economist at the University of Texas at Austin, doesn’t see tariffs as inherently inflationary, and he agrees that tariffs would bring back jobs that were lost to overseas companies. 

 

“A tariff strategy can be implemented in such a way that the cost largely falls outside of the country,” Galbraith told VOA. 

 

But Stephen Lamar, president and CEO at the American Apparel & Footwear Association, said that tariffs, especially those levied on China, will ultimately raise the cost of both domestic and foreign goods given the interconnectivity of global economies. 

“The theory on paper is that you’re giving domestic producers an advantage. The reality in practice is that more people are paying higher prices for products, regardless of their source,” Lamar told VOA.  

 

Reinsch also cast doubt on the ability of tariffs to bring manufacturing jobs back to America, particularly in labor-intensive sectors like apparel or footwear. 

 

“I would be surprised if you see a renaissance in the American apparel industry as a result of a 10% tariff. It would take a lot more than that,” Reinsch said, adding that tariffs don’t guarantee a move away from imports and toward domestic manufacturing. 

 

Importers looking for cheap products can still source from countries in Southeast Asia or Africa that provide competitive, low-cost alternatives to Chinese products. 
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WASHINGTON — A humming American economy ended 2024 on a solid note with consumer spending continuing to drive growth, and ahead of what could be a significant change in direction under a Trump administration.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that gross domestic product — the economy’s output of goods and services — expanded at a 2.3% annual rate from October through December.

For the full year, the economy grew a healthy 2.8%, compared with 2.9% in 2023.

The fourth-quarter growth was a tick below the 2.4% economists had expected, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.

Consumer spending grew at a 4.2% pace, fastest since January-March 2023 and up from 3.7% in July-September last year. But business investment tumbled as investment in equipment plunged after two straight strong quarters.

Wednesday’s report also showed persistent inflationary pressure at the end of 2024. The Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge — called the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — rose at a 2.3% annual pace last quarter, up from 1.5% in the third quarter and above the Fed’s 2% target. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core PCE inflation was 2.5%, up from 2.2% in the July-September quarter.

A drop in business inventories shaved 0.93 percentage points off fourth-quarter growth.

But a category within the GDP data that measures the economy’s underlying strength rose at a healthy 3.2% annual rate from July through September, slipping from 3.4% in the third quarter. This category includes consumer spending and private investment but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.

Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, said that figure “suggests the economy remains strong, particularly given the fourth-quarter disruptions,” including a strike at Boeing and the aftermath of two hurricanes.

President Donald Trump has inherited a healthy economy. Growth has been steady and unemployment low — 4.1% in December.

The economy has proven remarkably resilient after the Fed’s inflation fighters raised rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023 to combat the biggest surge in consumer prices since the 1980s. Instead of sliding into a recession, as most economists predicted, GDP kept expanding. Growth has now topped 2% in nine of the last 10 quarters.

On Wednesday, the Fed left its benchmark interest rate unchanged after making three cuts since September. With the economy rolling along, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters, “we do not need to be in a hurry” to make more cuts. The Fed is also cautious because progress against inflation has stalled in recent months after falling from four-decade highs hit in mid-2022.

The European Central Bank cut its benchmark rate by a quarter point Thursday, underlining the contrast between more robust growth in the U.S. economy and stagnation in Europe, which recorded zero growth at the end of last year.

The U.S. economic outlook has become more cloudy, however. Trump has promised to cut taxes and ease regulations on business, which could speed GDP growth. But his plan to impose big taxes on imports and to deport millions of immigrants working in the United States illegally could mean slower growth and higher prices.

Trump said last week that he would lower oil prices and then “demand” lower interest rates – a topic he said he’d take up with Powell. But the Fed chair deflected questions about Trump’s comments Wednesday and said he’d had no contact with the president.

Trump has also tried to reshape the federal government, offering buyouts to workers and issuing a memo Monday night freezing federal grants, then rescinding the memo Wednesday after a public outcry.

Citing the “squeeze” on the federal government, Ashworth wrote in a commentary, “we wouldn’t be surprised to see a reversal in the first quarter. As a starting point, we expect first-quarter GDP growth to slow marginally below 2%.”

Thursday’s GDP release was the first of three Commerce Department estimates of October-December growth.
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TAIPEI, TAIWAN — The Lunar New Year, also called the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival in China, is traditionally celebrated with tables piled with food and red envelopes filled with cash for children.

In past years, smoke from outdoor fire pits filled the air throughout the morning and afternoon, as people burned paper money to ensure that even the ancestors can feel the financial boon that the biggest holiday of the year usually brings to the living.

In recent years, however, China’s economic slowdown has altered the atmosphere of Chinese New Year. Facing increasing financial burdens, young people are reexamining long-held traditions as they welcome the Year of the Snake, opting for more frugal alternatives during this year’s eight-day-long national holiday.

A 30-year-old legal worker from Shanghai, who did not want to use his name for fear of reprisal, told VOA that stores selling trinkets and supplies for the holiday appeared unusually deserted.

He said people appear to be forgoing large purchases, which manifests mostly in the custom of giving money-filled red envelopes — the color symbolizes good luck and prosperity in the new year.

“As with goods purchased for the new year, red envelopes have become more simple and less thick,” the Shanghai resident said.

He told VOA he usually gives his niece an envelope with around $140 inside, but this year, he plans to give her $90.

Talk on social media

Frustration with the economy is being expressed on social media — young people are saturating online threads with images and comments describing the pressure and criticism they will encounter during the holiday.

An account on RedNote called “I don’t give a damn about the banana” posted a series of funny images detailing the levels of anxiety young, unmarried and unemployed people will face during the holiday.

“You haven’t earned any money but you still have to give the younger kids a red envelope,” the user wrote, over a picture of a woman giving a small bill to a cat.

Many others offer advice to ease fears of being scrutinized by the family.

“Unique-me” wrote on the Chinese social media platform Weibo: “Now the economy is not good, it’s good to just have an income. If you are in a difficult situation, you can admit that you don’t make much. There is no need to be generous. Just show your appreciation. Those who have opinions about you because of the size of your red envelope, let them have opinions.”

Faced with economic woes, some local governments are advocating frugality. Baise City, Guangxi, suggested that the amount of money in a red envelope should not exceed $3.

The initiative also encourages the younger generation to give their elders “blessing gifts” with commemorative significance or emotional value instead of red envelopes.

This move has attracted widespread attention, with many social media users expressing their support for the program’s positive impact on financial and mental health. Some suggested that blessing gifting be promoted nationwide.

Workplace anxiety

The size of red envelopes exchanged in the workplace and increasing leniency on new year vacation day allowances have stoked fears of job insecurity among employees.

“The economic downturn is not only reflected in my meager salary, but also in the red envelopes given by the boss every year,” “Life with Greed” said on Weibo.

A user called “Let’s try to be happy” commented on Weibo: “My company is in a slump. New Year gifts have not been issued. In previous years, the maximum New Year holiday was 20 days, but this year it was more than a month. I don’t know what it will be like next year. It feels like it is on the verge of bankruptcy.”

A 39-year-old government worker in Dalian, who spoke to VOA on the condition of anonymity because of security fears, said despite having a family and a stable job, she will limit her holiday spending.

“We have to reduce some unnecessary expenses, such as buying less candy and snacks, and we try to buy simple things outside when worshiping,” the wife and mother said.

The changes in Chinese Spring Festival customs are affected by many factors, but the economy is most critical, said Sun Guoxiang, a professor in the international affairs and business department at Nanhua University in Taiwan.

“The economic downturn has led to a decline in consumption capacity. Young people pay more attention to rational consumption and actual needs, which reduces the relatively high-cost parts of traditional Spring Festival customs,” Sun said, adding that pressure from family about issues that include work, marriage and education cannot be ignored as drivers of this trend.

He said the future of Chinese New Year and how it will be celebrated will depend heavily on China’s development and whether the country can overcome its current economic decline.
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President Donald Trump is widely expected to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada as early as February 1 as part of a plan he says will boost the U.S. economy. But with much about the specifics still unknown, economists, business owners and everyday consumers are still trying to understand how it could impact them. Johny Fernandez reports from New York City. (Produced by: Bakhtiyar Zamanov)
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