The Economist. — May 26th 2012. — 15 p.Special report China's economy
In 1886 Thomas Stevens, a British adventurer, set o ff on an unusual bicycle trip. He pedalled from the flower boats of Guangzhou in China’s south to the pagodas of Jiujiang about 1,000km (620miles) to the north. He was disarmed by the scenery (the countryside outside Guangzhou was a marvellous eldgarden) and disgusted by the squalor (the inhabitants of one town were scrofulous, soreeyed, andmangy). His passage aroused equally strong reactions from the locals:
fascination, fear and occasional fury. In one spot a soulharrowing mob pelted him with stones, bruising his body and breaking a couple of his bicycle’s spokes.Contents
Exports
The retreat of the monster surplus
Investment
Prudence without a purpose
Local government
The ballad of Mr Guo
Finance
Bending not breaking
Cross-border flows
Homeric wisdom
Shadow banking
Shades of grey
Consumers
Dipping into the kitty
The next chapter
Beyond growth
