China's import growth misses estimates

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“There’s something bad for everyone in this.” So says a gloomy economist about the latest figures from China, showing a slowdown in the growth of both exports and imports. At least there is still growth of sorts. But, warns this article, there is a looming trade war between the US – currently highly politicised in the run-up to the presidential election – and China, which boasts a vast trade surplus and deliberately weakened currency. Obama is expected to come under increasing domestic pressure to launch some sort of trade offensive.