China’s economy is in trouble – and Beijing appears powerless to do anything about it

After years of booming economic success, we can no longer rely on China to rescue the rest of us from weak growth, writes Chris Blackhurst

As Xi Jinping arrives at the Brics summit in Johannesburg, China’s economy could also be heading south (EPA)

For the past few decades, one of the great world stories has been the seemingly unstoppable rise of China.

Less than four decades ago, its income per head was less than India’s. Now, China’s has comfortably surpassed it, becoming the second-biggest economy in the world along the way.

More than that, China is the engine of global prosperity. Dhaval Joshi of BCA Research calculates that China generated a staggering 41 per cent of the world’s growth in the past 10 years, almost double the 22 per cent contribution from the US and swamping the eurozone’s 9 per cent.