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Contraction in China’s manufacturing sector eased up in August

China’s manufacturing sector finally showed a tiny bit of motion

China’s Economy Is Finally Making Some Moves

**Why should I care?**

***The bigger picture:*** *Good news, if you look hard enough.*

Still, measures of non-manufacturing activity – think services and construction – are on the decline. But as we’ve learnt, you need to dig to find the good stuff: services like transport, accommodation, and entertainment did alright last month. The blame, then, may land on the country’s troubled property sector. If that’s the case, the government needs to ramp up targeted support initiatives, or risk seeing small victories give way to massive failures.

***For markets:*** *What goes up must crash down.*

Each promise of government economic support seems to be followed by a market rally, but every time they fizzle faster than the last as investors realize that not much actually changes. That’s a toxic relationship, one that’s left China’s main index a little battered this year. So with jaded investors far from won over by existing measures, many analysts reckon the government needs to unleash its beast to win them over – potentially one like the half-a-trillion-dollar stimulus package it rolled out in 2008.



**What’s going on here?**

Fresh data out on Thursday [suggested](https://www.straitstimes.com/business/china-s-factory-activity-contracts-again-amid-gloomy-outlook) that China’s economy might finally be making moves, if you wade through the bad bits, that is.

**What does this mean?**

China’s economy has been a real downer this year, and pundits will take what they can get at this point. So sure, an index tracking activity in the country’s all-important manufacturing sector shrank for the fifth-straight month in August. But hey, it wasn’t as much as economists expected *and* it edged a little closer to flatlining. These days, that’s a win. Mix in a measure of new orders creeping up in the sector for the first time since March, and whispers are spreading that the worst may be over. Maybe that’s because the government’s efforts are working or maybe it’s wishful thinking – but either way, it’s a tiny shred of hope for China’s manufacturing-heavy economy.



News Story

encryptedEmail

planSlug

slugOrId

ContentPieceQuery

viewer

authorization

content

SingleContentPiece_viewer

webSubscriptions

contentPiece

mostPopularTags

features

query ContentPieceQuery(
  $slugOrId: String
  $encryptedEmail: String
  $planSlug: String
) {
  viewer {
    authorization {
      roles {
        isAnonymous
      }
      ...SingleContentPiece_authorization
    }
    ...SingleContentPiece_viewer_4uP6yi
    content(encryptedEmail: $encryptedEmail) {
      ...SingleContentPiece_content
      contentPiece(slugOrId: $slugOrId) {
        __typename
        ...SingleContentPiece_contentPiece
        canonicalLink
        id
      }
    }
    id
  }
}

fragment AccessibleImage_accessibleImage on AccessibleURLImage {
  full
  altText
}

fragment AdvertWrapper_activeProductAdvert on ProductAdvert {
  id
  advertHandle
  destinationUrl
  sponsoringCompany {
    name
    id
  }
}

fragment AnonymousPaywall_viewer_2HyoJ4 on Viewer {
  webSubscriptions {
    defaultWebPlan {
      ...PremiumAccountPromotionPanel_webPaymentPlan_2HyoJ4
    }
  }
}

fragment AudioOnlyBanner_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  headerImage {
    ...ServerImage_image
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  title
}

fragment AuthorLinkWrapper_author on Author {
  slug
  isActive
}

fragment Avatar_image on URLImage {
  original
}

fragment BannerAdvert_activeProductAdvert on ProductAdvert {
  title
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  destinationUrl
  sponsoringCompany {
    name
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  }
  wideImage {
    ...AccessibleImage_accessibleImage
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  narrowImage {
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  ...AdvertWrapper_activeProductAdvert
}

fragment Block_block on ContentPieceBlock {
  __isContentPieceBlock: __typename
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  ... on TextBlock {
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  ... on ImageBlock {
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  ... on QuoteBlock {
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}

fragment ContentAuthorAndMetadata_author on Author {
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}

fragment ContentDownloadBlock_authorization on Authorization {
  roles {
    isB2bUser
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}

fragment ContentDownloadBlock_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  ...DownloadContentDropdown_contentPiece
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  isAvailableToProducts
}

fragment ContentFooter_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  title
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}

fragment ContentHeaderDetails_authorization on Authorization {
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}

fragment ContentHeaderDetails_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  id
  title
  deepLink
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}

fragment ContentHeader_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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}

fragment ContentMetadata_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  author {
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}

fragment ContentPieceBookmarkIcon_contentPiece on ContentPiece {
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}

fragment ContentPieceSEO_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  title
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  subtitle
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  ... on PublicContentPiece {
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  byline
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}

fragment ContentPieceSponsor_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  sponsoringCompany {
    id
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    link
    logo {
      ...ServerImage_image
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}

fragment DefaultContentHeader_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  ...AudioOnlyBanner_contentPiece
  ...ContentMetadata_contentPiece
  id
  title
  headerImage {
    ...ServerImage_image
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  author {
    ...AuthorLinkWrapper_author
    ...ContentAuthorAndMetadata_author
    id
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}

fragment DownloadContentDropdownContentPieceRefetch_viewer_1QxYRk on Viewer {
  contentPieceTranslation: contentPiece(slugOrId: $slugOrId) {
    __typename
    id
    title
    isAvailableToProducts
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      ... on Node {
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    keyInsightsBlocks {
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}

fragment DownloadContentDropdown_blocks on ContentPieceBlock {
  __isContentPieceBlock: __typename
  ... on TextBlock {
    textMarkdown
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}

fragment DownloadContentDropdown_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  localeMapping {
    languageCode
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}

fragment EvergreenContentHeader_authorization on Authorization {
  roles {
    isB2bUser
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}

fragment EvergreenContentHeader_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  ...ContentMetadata_contentPiece
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  canonicalLink
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  hasChapters
  chapters {
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  headerImage {
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}

fragment ImageBlock_block on ImageBlock {
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  alt
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}

fragment KeyInsightsBlock_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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}

fragment KeyInsightsCarousel_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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    id
    textMarkdown
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}

fragment KeyInsights_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  ...KeyInsightsCarousel_contentPiece
  ...KeyInsightsBlock_contentPiece
  keyInsightsBlocks {
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    textMarkdown
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}

fragment LicenseContentButton_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  id
  title
  isAvailableToProducts
}

fragment ListenButton_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  id
  title
  trackingTitle
  subtitle
  readingTime
  isPremium
  hasBlocks
  hasChapters
  hasAudio
  contentPieceType {
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  ...AudioOnlyBanner_contentPiece
}

fragment LoggedInPaywall_viewer_2HyoJ4 on Viewer {
  webSubscriptions {
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}

fragment MainContentSection_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  id
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    name
    trackingName
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  blocks {
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}

fragment MostPopularTags_tags on GenericTagConnection {
  edges {
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      ... on ContentTag {
        slug
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      ... on GeographyTag {
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      ...Tag_tag
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}

fragment Navigation_authorization on Authorization {
  roles {
    isB2bUser
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}

fragment Navigation_tags on GenericTagConnection {
  ...MostPopularTags_tags
}

fragment PaywallBanner_contentPieceType on ContentPieceType {
  isAvailableForFreemium
}

fragment PaywallBanner_viewer_2HyoJ4 on Viewer {
  ...AnonymousPaywall_viewer_2HyoJ4
  ...LoggedInPaywall_viewer_2HyoJ4
}

fragment PremiumAccountPromotionPanel_webPaymentPlan_2HyoJ4 on WebPaymentPlan {
  amount
  currency
  currencySymbol
  interval
  promotionApplied(slug: $planSlug) {
    stripeDiscount {
      discountPct
      discountAmount
      id
    }
    id
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}

fragment QuoteBlock_block on QuoteBlock {
  quote
  caption
}

fragment ServerImage_image on URLImage {
  full
}

fragment SingleContentPiece_authorization on Authorization {
  ...authorization_authorization
  ...ContentHeaderDetails_authorization
  ...ContentDownloadBlock_authorization
  ...EvergreenContentHeader_authorization
  roles {
    isPreviewingContentAllowance
    isPreviewing
    isAnonymous
    hasPremiumSubscription
    isFreemium
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}

fragment SingleContentPiece_content on Content {
  ...authorization_content
  anonymousUserHasPremium
}

fragment SingleContentPiece_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  ...AudioOnlyBanner_contentPiece
  ...authorization_contentPiece
  ...MainContentSection_contentPiece
  globalContentPieceId
  trackingTitle
  isPremium
  hasBlocks
  hasChapters
  hasAudio
  contentPieceType {
    name
    trackingName
    isAvailableForFreemium
    ...PaywallBanner_contentPieceType
  }
  chapters {
    __typename
    id
    slug
  }
  activeProductAdvert {
    ...BannerAdvert_activeProductAdvert
    id
  }
}

fragment SingleContentPiece_viewer_4uP6yi on Viewer {
  ...PaywallBanner_viewer_2HyoJ4
  ...DownloadContentDropdownContentPieceRefetch_viewer_1QxYRk
  mostPopularTags(first: 10) {
    ...Navigation_tags
  }
  authorization {
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  features
}

fragment Tag_tag on GenericTag {
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  ... on AssetClassTag {
    name
    slug
  }
  ... on GeographyTag {
    name
    slug
  }
  ... on ContentTag {
    name
    slug
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}

fragment TextBlock_block on TextBlock {
  textMarkdown
}

fragment authorization_authorization on Authorization {
  roles {
    isPreviewingContentAllowance
    isPreviewing
    isAnonymous
    hasPremiumSubscription
    isFreemium
  }
}

fragment authorization_content on Content {
  anonymousUserHasPremium
}

fragment authorization_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  isPremium
  contentPieceType {
    isAvailableForFreemium
  }
}


China’s Economy Is Finally Making Some Moves

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