China
China's economy slows but its global influence continues to rise
Over the past month, global financial markets have become terrified by the prospect of a Chinese economic slowdown.
In recent weeks, China's money markets have slowed to a near halt, China's stock markets suffered roller-coaster whiplash, and many western fund managers have reduced their China exposure.
Outside the country, pessimists returned to a familiar refrain: Chinese banks' debt loads signal the arrival of an event that doomsayers have been predicting for three decades - a meltdown of China's economy.
A severe slowdown would be catastrophic for China's global power, which is dependent on its high levels of growth, since a fast-growing China serves as a model to other developing nations, allows Beijing to amass vast quantities of US debt, and gives Beijing a far greater say in global institutions.
But although China's economy is slowing somewhat from its years of torrid growth, it is not going to crash: Beijing's government is actually anticipating a cooling down to about 7 per cent annual growth, which would be red hot for any other country. The Chinese economy, the second-largest on Earth, is not going to melt down any time soon, allowing Beijing to continue building up its global power.
Almost since it began reforming in the 1970s, China's economy has attracted naysayers. By focusing too much on export-driven growth, they argue, China has remained too dependent on foreign consumer markets. And China's opaque banking sector has made it hard for outsiders to estimate the total amount of non-performing loans in the country's four biggest banks.