'We Don't Care': Defiant China Looks Past Trump's America

 "We don't care about sales to the United States," says Hu Tianqiang as one of his toy fighter jets flies past our heads.

'We Don’t Care About U.S. Sales': China’s Yiwu Market Shrugs Off Trade Tensions

“We don’t care about sales to the United States,” says Hu Tianqiang, as one of his toy fighter jets zips over our heads.

His voice struggles to rise above the steady hum of buzzing toy planes and mini drones—just part of the overwhelming noise from a sea of toys competing for buyers’ attention.

Hu runs Zhongxiang Toys, a stall nestled inside the vast Yiwu International Trade Market—the largest wholesale market in the world. Located in the small city of Yiwu, it houses over 75,000 shops offering everything from festive lights and home goods to umbrellas and massage devices. Navigating just one section of this sprawling complex can take an entire day, with each hall resembling the scale of an airport terminal.

Yiwu sits in Zhejiang province, on China’s eastern seaboard. As a major manufacturing and export center with more than 30 ports, this region accounted for 17% of all Chinese exports to the U.S. last year—placing it squarely on the frontlines of the ongoing U.S.-China trade conflict.

Yet in Yiwu, the sentiment is shifting. As trade tensions deepen, vendors like Hu are looking elsewhere—and no longer waiting on America.

On the Frontline of Trade Tensions, Chinese Toy Sellers Look Beyond the U.S.

Mr. Hu finds himself at the heart of global trade friction, surrounded by rows of flashy toy jets, squeaky dogs, plush animals, dolls, and action figures—a small slice of the $34 billion worth of toys China exported in 2024.

Roughly $10 billion of that total went to the United States. But now, Chinese toys face tariffs of up to 245% under renewed U.S. trade measures. Former President Donald Trump has singled out China as the primary culprit in dominating global markets, vowing to clamp down harder.

Yet the mood in Yiwu has shifted dramatically since Trump’s first trade war began in 2018. That experience forced a reckoning—and sparked a pivot. “Other countries have money too,” Hu says with a shrug, summing up the lesson many exporters took to heart.

That sentiment now echoes across China’s economic landscape. The country, bracing for the potential return of a combative Trump presidency, isn’t backing down. Beijing continues to denounce U.S. pressure as economic bullying and has doubled down on its narrative of resilience and self-reliance.

On state-controlled social media, patriotic messaging has intensified—praising China’s innovation, trade diplomacy, and capacity to weather uncertainty. Meanwhile, in markets and factories, exporters say they’re diversifying and reducing their reliance on American buyers.

Hu estimates that 20% to 30% of his business once came from the U.S. But that’s changed. “Not anymore,” he says, without regret.