What's Ahead for China's Economy? Nobody Seems to Agree

What comes next for China’s economy? Clearly, the jury is still out. On Tuesday, China’s National Bureau of Statistics announced that third-quarter gross domestic product growth was 7.3 percent; that was the slowest in five years, or the worst performance since early 2009 during the global financial crisis.

Then today, there was a glint of good news, with a manufacturing measure above expectations. The HSBC Flash China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index—“flash” because it’s a preliminary reading, with the final number to be released on Nov. 3—came in at 50.4 (above 50 indicates expansion), compared with 50.2 the month before, and a three-month high.