President Donald Trump’s economic advisors believe that “China’s economy is just heading south” and thus vulnerable to American economic pressure, a theme that also continues to appear in US media.[1] But evidence for China’s slowdown frequently relies on monthly data showing slowing investment and/or weak retail sales—and these indicators are misleading or at best incomplete. A more reliable, frequently updated data point on trends in the Chinese economy is the pace of the expansion of imports. China is no exception to the general rule that the growth of imports is mainly determined by the pace of domestic demand. ... (full story)