Chinese workers are erupting in protest as President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs send shockwaves through the country’s already fragile economy. From the industrial zones of Shanghai to the frigid northeast cities of Inner Mongolia, the message is the same: Beijing’s house of cards is crumbling—and Trump is holding the match.

In factory towns across the country, furious employees have taken to the streets demanding months of unpaid wages as companies collapse under tariff pressure. At a major LED lighting factory near Shanghai, thousands of workers gathered outside in protest, chanting for backpay that hasn’t come since January. In Dao County, workers outside a sporting goods facility were met with locked doors and empty offices after their employer shut down overnight.

In a more desperate scene, construction workers in the city of Tongliao climbed onto rooftops, threatening to jump unless they received their promised wages. The unrest is spreading fast, mirroring the rare but intense protests of 2022 that broke out against President Xi Jinping’s COVID lockdowns—demonstrations that ended in a brutal government crackdown.

Behind the scenes, the source of the unrest is no mystery. Trump’s 145% tariffs on most Chinese imports have slammed export orders to their lowest levels since the pandemic. According to Goldman Sachs, as many as 16 million Chinese jobs could disappear if the trade restrictions continue tightening. Trump himself says the tariffs are working exactly as intended.

“They were making from us a trillion dollars a year. They were ripping us off like nobody’s ever ripped us off,” Trump said. “They’re not doing that anymore.”

Exporters are panicking. Garment producer Huang Deming told the Wall Street Journal he’s already cut nearly a third of his staff after U.S. clients vanished. Textile factory manager Qian Xichao says the situation is so dire, firms are cannibalizing each other in pricing wars just to survive. “To be frank, personally speaking, all we can do is go out and look for new opportunities,” Qian admitted.

The desperation is only deepening as China’s central planners appear paralyzed by the scope of the economic damage. While Xi Jinping’s regime has maintained an image of control, some advisers are warning privately that the Communist Party’s legitimacy is being tested.

“Xi today has the same mentality as Mao,” one government adviser told the Journal. “His bottom line is that no major crisis will be allowed to endanger his hold on power.”

Trump’s critics have long warned that his aggressive trade posture could spark a global backlash. But what’s playing out instead is a lopsided conflict where China, not the U.S., is being squeezed by collapsing demand and runaway unemployment. Trump has shown no signs of backing down. If anything, he’s hinted that more tariffs could be on the horizon as part of his plan to bring manufacturing back to America.

For China, the domestic blowback is just beginning. As more factories close and angry workers pour into the streets, Xi’s carefully curated image of stability is cracking. And Trump? He’s watching the fallout with a grin—having finally flipped the economic script on America’s most powerful adversary.