China's exports fell less than expected in September, with monthly figures showing recovery, but a sharper fall in imports left economists divided over whether the country's ailing trade sector is showing signs of turning around.

As Xi Jinping heads to the United States he might need to check that he takes his irony meter with him, for there seems little evidence that anyone in the Western media has one they might be willing to lend him.

China’s stock-market correction was predictable after its wild rise, but it does not signal a sustained economic slump. However, “China shock” did influence the U.S. and European stock markets, despite the effect being psychological and temporary. During the first half of September, U.S. and European markets have been rising steadily, despite the lingering struggles for Chinese stocks. With an expected mild rebound by the end of the year and beyond, it is likely that China’s imports will gradually pick up, thus contributing more to the world commodities demand recovery.

In 1997, at the height of the East Asian currency crisis, I wrote an article, “The Sky is not Falling (天塌不下来),” basically saying that the Chinese economy would be able to emerge from the crisis more or less unscathed.

Chinese President Xi Jinping defended his government’s economic stewardship and said that China’s slowing growth and market fluctuations won’t deter needed reforms.

While China’s National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) reporting on GDP growth grates have been called into question by international observers, there is acknowledgement that the structure of China’s economy is changing. The real test of the reliability of official reporting, therefore, will come when NBS issues its Q3 headline GDP figure.

China’s economy has shifted to a slow gear, having a bigger impact on those resource-exporting countries which highly depend on China’s market, but having no remarkable impact on European and the US economic growth. In particular, China’s slow economy is not the “culprit” of the recent US stock market slump, which was caused by the American market’s own problems.

The IMF holds a cautiously optimistic view about the prospects of the Chinese economy, recognizing that the important reason for a slowdown in China’s economy is the change in its development strategy. The services industry is rising, R&D is expanding slowly, and the financial system is modernizing. These changes take time and patience: If China chooses to slow down a little bit, it will be easier for the country to succeed and achieve the long-term goals it has anticipated.

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.

Sir, Praise to George Magnus for setting out so plainly a few of the hurdles facing China’s leadership, especially the recentralisation of power and its intrusion into economic policymaking