Optimists about China bouncing back are just hoping

News Snapshot:

First, buying growth via SOE bank credit is simply borrowing growth from the future and payback time eventually arrives. Second, globalisation used to be thought of as a good thing in a rules-based trading system. Then China joined the World Trade Organisation. Its overindulgence at the dinner table has weakened that premise and has now brought about external headwinds for Chinese economic progress. Third, if the economy is mismanaged in this way, confidence in the population at large is undermined making it harder to build growth through consumer demand. On the first point, the story is well known. Since 2008,...