Enter the dragon

China has suffered a reality check thanks to the global credit crunch, but there is still plenty to be positive about long term

The Chinese government recently stepped up efforts to get its flagging economy motoring again with its largest interest rate cut in more than 10 years. The one-year lending rate was slashed 108 basis points to 5.58%, the fourth cut by the People's Bank of China in 10 weeks. It followed hot on the heels of an attention-grabbing £586bn stimulus package which will effectively squeeze five years' worth of spending on infrastructure and social welfare into two years. There is no doubt urgent action is needed. The idea that China could decouple from the West and emerge relatively unscathed ...