Joint efforts needed to weather challenge

The international financial tsunami, set off by the US subprime crisis, has not only led to a drastic cut in the consumer demand of the world's largest economy, but has also had a negative impact on China's manufacturing industry.

According to statistics from the China Import & Export Fair, the total number of orders reached at the latest autumn fair showed a 10 percent fall in the growth rate from last year. The Guangzhou Fair, the country's largest commodity fair, serves to some degree as a weathervane of the export-bound economy. The steep drop in orders at the fair is symbolic of the hardship some domestic labor-intensive enterprises, especially the medium and small-sized ones, have suffered.

It is reported that the number of labor disputes and complaints has been on the rise in recent months under the ever-harsher employment situations. Also, more and more farmers-turned-workers based in some southeastern coastal regions have joined the hometown-bound tide.