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Economic Slowdown in China

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By Bruce Einhorn

Economic Slowdown in China

Not even China is immune to the turmoil rocking the global economy. For years, the supercharged Chinese economy seemed insulated from problems elsewhere: GDP growth was in double digits as Western and Asian companies alike poured billions of dollars of investments into the country. China accumulated the world's largest foreign exchange reserves—more than $1 trillion—and Chinese companies plotted strategies to become world-beaters. New skyscrapers transformed the skylines of Chinese cities like Shanghai (pictured).

Those days of easy growth are long gone, though. The Chinese economy may have enjoyed a Teflon coating before, but today it is not impervious to the subprime-induced slowdown in the U.S. and the rest of the world. A slew of recently released statistics point to a sluggish China. Manufacturing is struggling, the property market is tanking, and exports are weak. The current scandal involving Chinese-made milk tainted with an industrial chemical that causes kidney failure in infants is further adding to the gloom in China. For more on the economic superpower's new challenges, read on.