Vincent
I’m Chinese and work in international trade, so let me share how the current tariff situation is affecting my work and life.

我是中国人，从事国际贸易工作，所以让我分享一下当前的关税形势对我的工作和生活的影响。

I’m 32 years old and live in Hangzhou. I manage the cross-border business division in a small company, earning a monthly salary of 20,000 RMB ($2,800). After taxes and mandatory contributions like insurance, my take-home pay is around 18,000 RMB ($2,520).

我今年32岁，住在杭州。我在一家小公司管理跨境业务部门，月薪2万元人民币（约合2800美元）。扣除税费和保险等强制性缴费后，我的净收入约为1.8万元人民币（约合2520美元）。

The cost of living in Hangzhou is quite high—roughly 2 to 3 times that of my hometown. My monthly rent is 3,200 RMB ($450), and utilities such as water, electricity, and gas cost around 200 RMB ($28) per month. On weekdays, I spend about 80 RMB (~$11) per day on food, which includes meals, coffee, and snacks. On weekends, I usually cook at home, which is much cheaper.

杭州的生活成本相当高，大约是我家乡的2到3倍。我的月租是3200元人民币（450美元），水、电、煤气等公共设施费用大约是每月200元人民币（28美元）。工作日，我每天的伙食费大约是80元人民币（约11美元），包括餐费、咖啡和零食。周末我通常在家做饭，这样便宜得多。

For transportation, I mostly use the subway since both my office and home are near metro stations. Monthly transportation costs are around 200 RMB (~$28).

交通方面，我主要乘坐地铁，因为我的办公室和家都在地铁站附近。每月交通费用约为200元人民币（约合28美元）。

In my leisure time, I enjoy working out (about 2,500 RMB/year or ~$350), hiking (which is practically free since the mountains in Hangzhou don’t charge entrance fees—this is great), swimming (around 30 RMB or ~$4.20 per session), and playing badminton (court fees are about 50 RMB or $7 per hour). Last month, I even traveled to Japan, which cost me around 10,000 RMB ($1,400).

闲暇时，我喜欢健身（每年约2500元人民币，约合350美元）、徒步旅行（杭州的山不收门票，所以几乎免费——这点很棒）、游泳（每次约30元人民币，约合4.20美元）以及打羽毛球（场地费约50元人民币，约合每小时7美元）。上个月，我甚至去了日本旅游，花了大约1万元人民币（约合 400美元）。

Since Trump returned to office, aside from the unpredictable fluctuations in stocks and funds, nothing else seems to have changed significantly.

特朗普重掌美国政府以来，除了股票和基金的波动难以预测之外，其他似乎并没有什么重大变化。

Now let’s talk about work. Our products are sold in the U.S. market, so tariffs are involved. Our logistics provider handles customs clearance for us—we only need to pay a fixed rate in RMB per kilogram. Tariffs have indeed affected their pricing; currently, the cost per kilogram has increased by 2 RMB (~$0.28), but this impact is minimal so far. We haven’t even raised our product prices. Even better, the Hangzhou government has issued a logistics subsidy for cross-border shipments, covering 5% of our shipping costs. This means the current impact is essentially zero.

现在说说工作。我们的产品销往美国市场，所以会涉及关税。我们的物流公司负责清关，我们只需支付每公斤固定的人民币费用。关税确实影响了他们的定价；目前每公斤成本上涨了2元人民币（约合0.28美元），但目前影响很小。我们甚至没有提高产品价格。更棒的是，杭州市政府为跨境运输提供了物流补贴，补贴了我们5%的运费。这意味着目前的影响几乎为零。

However, the real effect is felt on the sales side. Although we haven’t raised prices, American consumers seem a bit uneasy and are becoming more cautious with their purchases. This has led to a slight decline in our sales. Fortunately, the U.S. isn’t our only market, so the overall impact has been limited.

然而，真正的影响体现在销售方面。虽然我们没有涨价，但美国消费者似乎有些不安，在购买方面也变得更加谨慎。这导致我们的销售额略有下降。幸运的是，美国不是我们唯一的市场，所以总体影响有限。

Has life gotten worse? At least for now, I don’t feel that it has.

生活变糟了吗？至少现在，我感觉没有。

upxed on July 31, 2025:
My post has drawn a lot of attention, comments, and some controversy, so here’s some clarification:

2025年7月31日更新：
我的帖子引起了很多关注、评论和一些争议，因此这里需要澄清一下：

1,About my income:
My official salary is 20,000 RMB/month, but my take‑home pay is around 18,000. Normally, with full social insurance and housing fund contributions, I would only get about 15,000. However, like many small companies in China, mine contributes at the minimum required level instead of based on my actual salary, so deductions are only about 1,000 a month.
As for taxes, there are special deductions (for elderly parents over 60, rent/mortgage, children, etc.). I claim for my two parents and my rent. After these deductions, my total tax for the year was just over 10,000 RMB—about 1,000 per month—so my net income is around 18,000.

1、关于我的收入：
我的正式工资是每月2万元人民币，但实际到手的工资大约是1.8万元人民币。通常情况下，即使缴纳了全额的社保和住房公积金，我也能拿到1.5万元人民币左右。不过，和中国许多小公司一样，我的缴费标准是最低标准，而不是根据我的实际工资，所以每月扣除的金额只有1000元左右。
至于税收，有一些特殊扣除项目（针对60岁以上的年迈父母、房租/房贷、子女等）。我申报了父母双方的税款和房租。扣除这些扣除项目后，我全年的税款总额略高于10,000元人民币，大约每月1,000元，所以我的净收入约为18,000元。

2,Utilities:
Many people said my water/electric/gas bills are too low. I live alone, spend most weekdays at work, and often go out on weekends, so I barely use them. A family would definitely spend more.

2、日常开支：
很多人说我的水电煤气费太低了。我一个人住，工作日大部分时间都在工作，周末也经常出去，所以几乎不用这些。一家人肯定花的更多。

3,My rural background:
I grew up in a poor rural part of Henan. The nearest market town is a 40‑minute drive, and there are only a dozen households nearby. My parents are over 60. My mom occasionally cooks on construction sites (3,000–4,000 RMB/month, only a few months a year). They also raise 20–30 pigs on a small farm—no license needed in rural China—though profits have been low recently. They grow wheat, corn, vegetables, sweet potatoes, and some fruit trees, so food is mostly self‑sufficient; extra corn feeds the pigs and surplus wheat can be sold. In the mountains nearby, they also collect medicinal herbs to sell.

3、我的农村背景：
我在河南一个贫困的农村长大。最近的集镇开车也要40分钟，附近只有十几户人家。我的父母都60多岁了。我妈妈偶尔在建筑工地做饭（每月3000到4000元人民币，一年只有几个月）。他们还在一个小农场养了20到30头猪——在中国农村不需要许可证——尽管最近利润很低。他们种植小麦、玉米、蔬菜、红薯和一些果树，所以粮食基本自给自足；多余的玉米用来喂猪，多余的小麦可以卖掉。在附近的山里，他们还采集药材出售。

They built their own house on a homestead plot allocated in their village. Water comes from a well, so no water bills. Daily living costs are very low: electricity, internet, and phone cost about 200–300 RMB a month. Rural medical insurance costs about 400 RMB per year and covers 75–85% of hospitalization costs.

他们在村里分配的宅基地上建了自己的房子。水来自井水，所以不用付水费。日常生活成本很低：电费、网络费和电话费每月约200-300元。农村医疗保险每年约400元，可报销75-85%的住院费用。

Why don’t I bring them to the city? They prefer the life they know—land, freedom, familiar people—over the convenience of a city.

我为什么不带他们去城里呢？他们更喜欢熟悉的生活——土地、自由、熟悉的人——而不是城市的便利。

Many of my childhood friends work in factories like Foxconn (3,000–5,000 RMB/month at entry level). These factories usually provide free dorms, meals, uniforms, and pay social insurance, so living costs are almost zero. Even with a much lower salary (a quarter of mine), they can still support a family back in the countryside without “struggling to survive.”

我儿时的许多朋友都在富士康这样的工厂工作（起薪3000-5000元/月）。这些工厂通常提供免费宿舍、餐食、制服，并缴纳社会保险，所以生活成本几乎为零。即使工资低得多（只有我的四分之一），他们也能养活农村的一家人，不用“挣扎求生”。

4,Perspective:
I never claimed to represent all of China. I only described my own life. With 1.4 billion people, everyone’s situation is different. Of course, there are people better off and worse off—that’s true everywhere. There’s no need to argue about it.

4、视角：
我从未声称代表全中国。我只是描述了我自己的生活。14亿人，每个人的境况都不一样。当然，有人过得好，有人过得差——这在任何地方都是如此。没有必要争论。

5,Finally:
If you think what I said is “propaganda,” so be it. People believe what they want to believe. If you ever get the chance, come see China for yourself—seeing is believing.

5、最后：
如果你觉得我说的是“宣传”，那就这样吧。人们只相信他们愿意相信的。如果你有机会，一定要亲自来中国看看——眼见为实。