MOST EMERGING economies struggle to live within their means. China, however, struggles to live up to them. Even in the best of times, the combined spending of its households, firms and government is not enough to buy all that it can produce, leaving a surplus that must be exported. The country has run a trade surplus for 34 of the past 40 years. And these are not the best of times. China is enduring its longest spell of deflation since the Asian crisis over a quarter of a century ago. An epic stockmarket rout since late 2022 has seen investors lose $2trn.
The Economist
