As China’s youth continue to struggle to find jobs suited to their skills and background, some enterprising hopefuls are making use of an unorthodox channel to unearth new opportunities: the country’s sprawling trade fairs and expos.

“I go to these expos to explore and broaden my view of what’s out there, then I go through these companies’ websites to send out job applications,” said An Ran, who earned her bachelor’s degree in English in 2024. She was recently laid off by her first employer, a small foreign trade firm.

“The employment environment is horrible,” she added. “Many of the smaller companies are just screening young people, not really training them.”

Her complaints are a familiar refrain for the millions of young Chinese on the hunt for stable work. Their unemployment rate – consistently landing in double digits since 2019 – poses a headache for Beijing as it works to keep economic growth steady and restore public confidence.