Do enlighten me then?

From a quick Google search, the average (mean, presumably) salary for a Chinese manufacturing worker in Shenzen is CNY 47 per hour, which is only £5.21 and seems very low.

However, per Wise, the average 1-bedroom apartment in Shenzen outside the city centre is approximately CNY 2,900 or CNY 5,400 in the city centre.

At CNY 8,225 per month, which is far below average for the city (CNY ~12,000), even average rent is quite affordable.

In China, minimum wage is set by region, so Shenzen’s minimum wage is 2,360 per month, which is still 81% of the average rent.

Not great pay at all obviously, especially the minimum wage, but I don’t think it’s any more “slavery” than anywhere else really?

I picked Shenzen because as far as I understand it, it’s kind of manufacturing hub. Half the things I own are prolly made in Shenzen I noticed, and I don’t shop at any Chinese shops (Temu, wish, AliExpress, etc.) nor Amazon.

I’ve taken the figures from here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage_in_China

https://wise.com/gb/cost-of-living/china/shenzhen

https://www.erieri.com/salary/job/manufacturing-worker/china/shenzhen

I’m unsure about the quality of the sources and there is probably better data, plus I’d prefer median figures by age group and whether it’s for full-time/part-time and to balance that with an unemployment rate (and preferably not a bullshit stat that excludes people on benefits etc). That would give us a bit more of an actual indication.

I’m happy to be educated.

protip: check out all the downvotes. lol. the ccp are rife on lemmy now. be aware, they are among us, attempting to subvert and promote their bullshit propganda. the chinese ccp can fuck off into the sun.