David Fickling, Columnist

Trump Tariff Paradox Glimpsed in China’s Abyss

A trade war will only exacerbate the imbalances both sides aim to solve.

They both want the same thing.

Photographer: Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images

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China’s economic growth appears to be coming off the boil. That makes the prospect of a trade war more, not less risky.

Data out Thursday came in unexpectedly weak, with retail sales rising at their slowest annual pace since the 2003 SARS outbreak and fixed-asset investment putting in its worst performance since 1999.