As exports to the United States drop, some areas of China are having major lay-off's and seeing some incomes cut by half. In some economic sectors, orders to the USA have dropped by 40%.

Once the envy of the nation for its abundant jobs and high wages, Shenzhen -- the birthplace of China's experiment in capitalism -- is experiencing an economic downturn in tandem with the United States.

Industry groups estimate that tens of thousands of factories making products from ball bearings to shoes to furniture have closed over the past year. Weighed down by the problems here, growth in China's gross domestic product for 2008 is expected to slow to a single digit for the first time in 11 years.

On a recent weekday at Yantian, the majestic, nearly 1,300-foot-long container ships that once graced the waters were gone. With shipping volume down for the first time in the port's history -- by 5 to 7 percent depending on the month -- the larger ships had been reassigned to other ports in China with goods headed for anyplace but the United States. Only half-size freighters are left to serve Yantian's port.

"Orders to the U.S. have been reduced by 40 percent," said Angela Hao, general manager for the Shenzhen office of the City Ocean shipping company. "At the moment everybody is struggling, trying to see who will survive."

Ever since Shenzhen, just north of Hong Kong, was honored with becoming the country's first special economic zone in 1979, residents of the area have been China's keepers of the American dream. Today the landscape around the city, with its big houses and big cars, is the closest thing China has to U.S.-style suburbs.

For a while, Xiong prospered. Like other employees, he often made $4,400 to $5,800 a month with commissions -- a fortune in a country where the average annual urban salary is $2,000.

But today most workers are making $750 to $1,500.

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