Society

China's growth is slowing under the weight of Beijing's anti-inflation campaign and weaker global demand, but any investors betting on a hard landing would be underestimating the resilience of the world's second-largest economy.

China's relentless urbanization continue to drive expansion even as Beijing seeks to check unfettered investment by growth-obsessed local authorities, while stronger domestic consumption is providing a firmer cushion against external shocks.

China bears may have been emboldened on Thursday by a purchasing managers' survey showing growth in the factory sector nearly stalled in June as new export orders fell.

But skeptics who are expecting an abrupt economic slowdown may have miscalculated Beijing's resolve to act quickly if needed to revive growth, especially if inflation eases later this year as expected, reducing the need for fresh monetary tightening measures, analysts say.

At last Friday’s Munk Debate in Toronto, Henry Kissinger and three other global affairs experts heatedly debated whether the 21st century belongs to China. What is China’s status quo? Does China have a bright future? These questions were at the heart of the debate.

Former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping once said that China is both “big and small, strong and weak.” His wise words, which echoed China’s complexity, still ring true today.

Sixty-two years since its founding, and 30 years since economic reforms began, the People’s Republic of China has awed the world with its stunning economic and social progress: More than 200 million Chinese were lifted out of poverty. More than a billion now have enough to eat. Our GDP totalled $5.88-trillion (U.S.) in 2010, making us the world’s second-largest economy. We top the world in the number of cars produced and sold. Our highway network has expanded to more than 65,000 kilometres. Our high-speed rail construction is growing rapidly. And many Chinese people earn a decent living from hard work.

The recovery from the international financial crisis continues to disappoint optimistic forecasts. The US economy's first quarter growth of 1.8 percent was slow by historical standards during an economic recovery, and was a deceleration from the previous quarter. In the European Union (EU), GDP in the first quarter of 2011 was still 2 percent below its peak of three years ago.

Due to this slow recovery, major economic policy disputes are taking place in the US and Europe. Greece's sovereign debt crisis makes front page headlines. But also looming is a fight on the US budget deficit. The US government's legal debt limit will be reached in August. The US will not default, and the limit will be raised. But the autumn will see the Obama administration and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives clash on how, and by how much, to reduce a US budget deficit running at $1.3 trillion this year, following $1.3 trillion in 2010, and $1.4 trillion in 2009.

Gome Former Chairman, Chen Xiao

Chinese retailer Gome Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd. said on Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit in a Beijing court against its former chairman, Chen Xiao, alleging that he gave "false and misleading" company information in an earlier interview to a Chinese publication.

Hong Kong-listed Gome said comments made by Mr. Chen in an article published on May 10 by the 21st Century Business Herald imposed "financial damages to the company's reputation and operations." It didn't say what comments were made by Mr. Chen.

In the article, Mr. Chen discussed, among other things, events leading up to his departure from the company's helm in March.