Thinking About China
Opinion

Signs of a ‘Doom Loop’ in China

Slow growth and deflation are discouraging investment in China and, in the process, creating yet another drag on the economy’s pace of growth.
Signs of a ‘Doom Loop’ in China
A residential construction site is seen in Hangzhou, eastern Zhejiang Province, China, on July 15, 2025. AFP via Getty Images
Milton Ezrati
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Commentary

While Europe and the United States try to stamp out the lingering inflationary effects of their COVID-19 policy missteps, China faces deflationary forces that promise considerable economic harm of a different sort.

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.”