July 15, 2013.

China Slump Ripples Across the World

II

As he put his hand to the doorknob Winston saw that he had left the diary open on the table. DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER was written all over it, in letters almost big enough to be legible across the room. IT was an inconceivably stupid thing to have done. But, he realized, even in his panic he had not wanted to smudge the creamy paper by shutting the book while the ink was wet.

As the numbers pile up showing China's sizzling growth cooling down, industries world-wide----from German paper-cutter makers to Indonesian palm-oil exporters----are confronting an altered landscape of winners and losers.

He drew in his breath and opened the door. Instantly a warm wave of relief flowed through him. A colorless, crushed-looking woman, with wispy hair and a lined face, was standing outside.

The ones that benefited the most from China's rise are now being hurt. Others, aiming at China's 1.3 billion consumers, are faring better.

"Oh, comrade," she began in a dreary, whining sort of voice, "I thought I heard you come in. Do you think you could come across and have a look at our kitchen sink? It's got blocked up and----"

Growth in China, the world's second-biggest economy after the U.S., has been slowing since 2007's peak, but that slowdown has accelerated recently.