It is traditionally difficult, if not impossible, to obtain valid economic data from the Middle Kingdom. Now a survey by the German Chamber of Foreign Trade has shed some light on the situation. And it does not look rosy. 83% of 566 German companies operating in China stated that the country is in recession.

And it will take time to get back on a stable growth path. Bad news for Xi Jinping and his central planners after a gigantic crash on the stock markets, the real estate debacle and the looming demographic trap in which the country finds itself.