The Wall Street Journal writes, "China is committed to reform despite slower growth, has the tools to avoid a major economic setback and won't resort to a currency war to benefit its exporters, the nation's premier said in a speech to global business leaders on Thursday. China is a source of global growth, not instability, Premier Li Keqiang told Chinese and international executives at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in the northeast city of Dalian. While economic indicators have seen their share of ups and downs lately, Beijing has policies in place, including fiscal and monetary stimulus, to mitigate volatility and keep growth on track, he said." 

"China's auto sales declined in August for a third month but some brands reported gains following a market downturn that shook the global industry. Sales of sedans, SUVs and minivans fell 3.4 percent from a year earlier to 1.4 million vehicles, according to an industry group, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. That dragged down the growth rate for the first eight months of the year to 2.6 percent following declines of 6.6 percent in July and 3.4 percent in June. China's auto market has been cooling since growth peaked at 45 percent in 2009 but this year's plunge prompted analysts to cut growth forecasts and General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG to reduce prices," The New York Times reports.

"Wall Street was set to open lower on Thursday, with index futures wiping out earlier gains as more uncertain news emerged out of China. Data showed that producer prices in China fell for the 42nd straight month and car sales dropped, in the most recent sign that deflation remains a significant risk for the world's No. 2 economy. Global financial markets have been rattled in recent weeks by fears that China's slowdown could be a drag on sluggish global growth, prompting some investors to bet that the U.S. central bank will delay a rate hike until the end of the year," Reuters reports.