As China Flexes Muscle, Obama Frets Over Rival’s Weakness

China is tailgating Japanese warplanes, playing chicken with Vietnamese ships and questioning America’s toughness. Yet it isn’t Chinese strength that most worries President Barack Obama, it’s Chinese fragility.

As China’s economy grows at its slowest pace in 24 years, the country’s domestic strains are drawing increased attention. While Americans stew over the prospect of being eclipsed by a new superpower, their president frets about instability in the world’s second-largest economy.