"We don't care about sales in the United States." One of his toy fighters flew over our heads. ”

It's hard to hear him on the buzzing toy planes and mini drones, which is almost the backdrop of the harsh rhythms surrounding his toys, all of which has attracted the attention of buyers.

Hu's stall Middle Eastern toys is located in the world's largest wholesale market in Yiwu, a small Chinese city.

It's a huge showroom, including showrooms of over 75,000 stores, and buyers are looking for almost everything from flashing Christmas lights and kitchenware to umbrellas and massage guns. A department may be needed most of the day, because each department has a commodity worth an airport hangar.

Yiwu is located on the east coast of China. Last year, the manufacturing and export hub had more than 30 ports, accounting for 17% of all U.S. Chinese sales.

This puts Yiwu and the region on the frontline of the U.S.-China trade war.

Mr. Hu is also on the front line. He sat in a row of stylish toy jets, squeaky dogs, fluffy stuffed animals, Barbie dolls and motorcycle Spider-Man, which is $25.4 billion (£25 billion) worth of $3.4 billion (£25 billion) exported in 2024.

About $10 billion of this was handed over to the United States. But now, these Chinese exports to the United States face tariffs of up to 245%. U.S. President Donald Trump made it clear that he would blame Beijing in particular, especially for turning the global market.

But things have changed since Trump began his first trade war against China in 2018. Yiwu taught a lesson, and Mr. Hu concluded: "Other countries have money too!"

This contempt has become a familiar theme in the world's second largest economy, preparing for another turbulent Trump presidency.

Beijing has repeatedly told the world that the United States is bullying trade negotiations but has not yet retreated.

Contrary to the uncertainty released by Trump, online propaganda applauds China's innovation and diplomacy. On the country's highly controlled social media, there are many posts echoing China's promise to continue fighting.

In factories and markets, merchants and exporters now say they have other options besides Trump’s America. For example, Mr. Hu said about 20%-30% of business comes from U.S. buyers. But no more.

"We don't care about 20-30%," Mr. Hu said. "We are now mainly selling to South America and the Middle East. We are not lacking in money, we are rich."

When we asked Trump, his colleague Chen Lang jumped into his eyes and rolled his eyes: "He is laughing at international jokes like there is no other joke. One day, a joke. It's like joking to increase tariffs for him."

Nearby, one of the thousands of buyers who flock to this market every day is buying more than 100 robots at negotiated prices that will turn into cars with a series of beeps and buzzes. After knocking various numbers into the calculator, the final price is written on the floor in chalk.

We were told that the buyer is from Dubai. The BBC has met many other people from all over Africa and South America.

Linkon said he has noticed the change in his toy business over the past decade.

"A few days ago, the store next to us ordered an order from a U.S. customer. It was worth more than a million. But due to the tariffs, the store owner decided to cancel it."

"They have to need China," he said. The country provides most of the toys in the United States.

“I think there are a lot of businesses in the United States these days protesting.”

Mr. Lin is right. Some toy store owners in the United States wrote to the White House, describing the tariffs as "disastrous" business.

Jonathan Cathey, who owns a toy company in Los Angeles, told the BBC over the phone.

He invested his last $500 in his firm subjects in 2009 and ran out of a two-bedroom bungalow in West Hollywood. It's a multi-million dollar business, he said, but tariffs could derail his plans.

"The entire toy industry could be in trouble. We are focusing on the overall implosion of the supply chain. It will become very ugly," he warned.

Exchange vendors are a huge task, he said: “You need a lot of resources to produce toys, and many of them have spent 40 years perfecting their craft.”

China has been an important part of Donald Trump's first 100 days in office, and his administration has conducted it directly with Beijing.

“He appears to be launching a crusade against the world,” said Zhou Bo, a former senior who served in the People’s Liberation Army. "But, of course, he tries to beat China the hardest."

Trump accused China of operating the Panama Canal, which was run by a Hong Kong-based company and vowed to retrieve it. He has been looking for ways to mine rare earth minerals, and China has effectively monopolized it, making it a key part of any deal with Ukraine. His threat to Greenland may also be aimed at curbing China's ambitions in the Arctic.

Of course, he launched another trade war against China's neighbors, such as Vietnam and Cambodia, which is crucial to its growing supply chain.

Last week, he suggested half of the tax on Chinese goods and said his administration was "actively" negotiating "reasonable deals with China."

But the Ministry of Commerce of China rejected this, "no factual basis." He was not moved by the headlines in state media, either: “Trump is probably the worst president in American history,” read on state television.

It seems that the US president is waiting for his Chinese rival, No. 11, to pick up the phone.

"We say in China - we have to let the bullet flies for a while," Zhou said. "This means that in the fog of war, we don't know what will happen next. I believe this sold tit will last for a month or two, hoping for no more than three months."

He added that it can't continue because that won't be very good.

Of course, this is not good for China. Trump’s tariffs are not even the biggest challenge facing the country, which is also struggling to cope with family economic pain, from low consumption to housing crisis, which has curbed people’s savings and confidence in the future.

In addition to the terrible timing, tariffs are biting Chinese companies.

Goldman Sachs predicts that China's economy will grow 4.5% this year, less than the government's target: 5%.

The BBC reported from the Guangzhou Trade Center in mid-April that U.S.-China trade is pausing, exporting to U.S. household exports, piled up on factory floors. This is proven by economic data for this month, which suggests that factory activity has slowed significantly.

When the BBC rang out the supplier to see if the goods to the United States were recovered, a messy photo appeared. One supplier said he had half a million clothes waiting to be shipped to Walmart, while others responded to his uncertainty. But we talked to two exporters that some of the goods from U.S. retailers did start over.

The scope and complexity of trade between two economies, including cargo cranes, umbrellas and everything in between, often boils down to different businesses and supply chains to deal with how they deal with tariffs.

But no matter what business it is, there is no doubt that American consumers will feel the absence of Chinese goods or the possible higher prices.

The United States remains heavily dependent on Chinese manufacturing to meet its own domestic needs - think of mobile phones, computers, semiconductors, furniture, clothes and of course toys. Only electronics and machinery account for more than 50% of U.S. imports.

Walmart and Target reportedly told Trump at a meeting last week that shoppers could see empty shelves and higher prices from next month. They also warned that supply shocks could be until Christmas.

Of all the Christmas decorations hanging around U.S. homes, about 90% come from Yiwu, China, and sellers are surrounded by the world of hope "Feliz Navidad" tells us that they are now trying to focus on selling to South America.

In Yiwu, this effort is very obvious.

In the early morning, before the shutters opened, the spongy hall of the wholesale market echoed with the sound of reciting key phrases.

"Shukran," said the Arabic teacher. Students repeat it several times to perfect the pronunciation before they learn it means “thank you.” Answer "Aafwan" or "Welcome".

These are free courses offered by local government associations. Most students are women and wear the best clothes and impress customers.

One stall holder said: “These women are the backbone of the entire Chinese trade.

“They are taking classes to keep each other ahead of each other to keep the game.”

Most traders can already speak a few words of English. But now they say they need to say hello to new buyers in Spanish and Arabic, a small but crucial sign of China's ever-changing trade relations.

Oscar is a Colombian who gives us only one name and he is wandering around the market hall with bags filled with fluffy rabbits and bears.

He said the U.S.-China trade war offers “many opportunities” for traders from other parts of the world.

"It's very important to do business with China," he insisted. "Now (with the United States), there's less."