The economic scars of China’s real estate crash are evident at the country’s many street markets for construction materials. Proprietors of once-bustling shops that sell everything from lighting fixtures and doors to toilet bowls are aching for customers. At the same time, China’s exports have climbed sharply. Companies are shipping cars, smartphones and many other […]

China announced on Monday that its trade surplus reached almost $1 trillion last year as its exports swamped the globe, while the country’s own businesses and households spent cautiously on imports. When adjusted for inflation, China’s trade surplus last year far exceeded any in the world in the past century, even those of export powerhouses […]