OpinionThinking About China

No Help Yet for China’s Sorry Economy

Some in the media have taken heart from the December figures on China’s economy. But the figures point not to improvement but to a continuation of trouble.
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No Help Yet for China’s Sorry Economy
A worker prepares to weld a steel structure at a construction site in Beijing on May 8, 2021. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images
Milton Ezrati
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Commentary

A new optimism regarding China’s economy has emerged. After a troubled 2023, exports edged up in December, and the pace of deflation moderated. It would be a mistake to take too much heart from this news.

Milton Ezrati
Milton Ezrati
Author
Milton Ezrati is a contributing editor at The National Interest, an affiliate of the Center for the Study of Human Capital at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), and chief economist for Vested, a New York-based communications firm. Before joining Vested, he served as chief market strategist and economist for Lord, Abbett & Co. He also writes frequently for City Journal and blogs regularly for Forbes. His latest book is "Thirty Tomorrows: The Next Three Decades of Globalization, Demographics, and How We Will Live."
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