BEIJING, May 17 — Chinese worker Liu Shengzun lost two jobs in just one month as US import tariffs shot up to triple digits in April, forcing a Guangdong lighting products factory, and then a footwear maker, to reduce output.

Tariffs came down dramatically this week, but Liu has given up on factory jobs and is now back farming in his hometown in southern China.

“It’s been extremely difficult this year to find steady employment,” said the 42-year-old, who used to earn 5,000 to 6,000 yuan (RM2979 to RM3574) a month as a factory worker and now doesn’t have a steady source of income. “I can barely afford food.”

The rapid de-escalation in the US–China trade war after the Geneva talks last weekend has helped Beijing avoid a nightmare scenario: mass job losses that could have endangered social stability — what the ruling Communist Party sees as its top-most priority, key to retaining its legitimacy and ultimately power.