Where growth still = recession.
This is what counts for a recession in China: an economy growing at only six percent. In the U.S., financial types are warning of a recovery in which gross domestic product tracks upward at just 2 percent, compared to the old norm of 3 percent.
But for China, which remains at once a poor nation and a trillion-dollar creditor for the U.S., growing at a quite high rate is the only way to provide jobs and a decent standard of living for all its citizens.
China has signaled that it intends to pull out of its slump in part by supporting its export sector. Key to that is keeping the yuan weak against the dollar, so Chinese goods remain attractive for consumers. China's State Council is welcoming a visiting Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner this week with news that it intends to keep the yuan "basically stable."
"In other words, China is warning Geithner not to make a big stink about the exchange rate when he comes," Thin says. "And to serve notice, China tweaked the exchange rate weaker this week."
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