Can China’s Economy Shake Off Its Second-Quarter Slump?

China’s lockdowns and other heavy COVID-19 restrictions in hundreds of cities from March to May have raised questions as to how quickly the Chinese economy will recover from its second quarter slump as structural challenges persist into the third quarter. China’s GDP grew just 0.4% year-on-year last quarter; when excluding the first quarter of 2020 (during China’s first outbreak of COVID-19), this marked China’s slowest quarterly growth rate since the government began reporting quarterly data in 1992. A number of events over the last month reflect the persisting risks to consumers, banks and China’s traditional engines of economic growth as the third quarter unfolds....