Is China on the Verge of a Comeback?

Is China on the Verge of a Comeback?

Just a few quarters ago, an increasing number of data points yielded an impression that the Chinese economy might soon be in distress. The housing sector looked overbuilt, the banking sector was carrying a rising number of non-performing loans and the Chinese government was soon headed for a possibly rocky transition. 

But even as the country's leaders prepared for a once-every-five-years transition, they still managed to pull many levers to aid the economy, led by a robust stimulus package focused on infrastructure investments. In response, the Chinese economy managed to grow at a 7.9% annual pace in the fourth quarter of...