Shanghai trader Yu Yongzhang's annual steel sales have shrunk by more than three quarters in a matter of years, in a market so bad he "can't see light at the end of the tunnel." More than 1,000 miles away in Chile, Hector Medina is about to lose his job after almost five decades working in the Huachipato steel mills.

The unifying factor is China, the dominant force that's long held sway over the industry they work in, and so also their careers and livelihoods.