For all the deliberation on the China-U.S. trade dispute, there is scant evidence that the tit-for-tat tariffs are having any significant impact on China’s growth. The country’s official growth rate did slow down from 6.7% to 6.5% in Q3, but it was just 0.1% below the consensus estimate. The Li Keqiang Index, an alternative barometer of China’s economic performance based upon rail freight volumes, electricity consumption and growth in bank loans, shows that growth is much stronger – closer to 9% year-on-year -- although it too has slowed slightly (Figure 1). That China’s growth has largely shrugged off the trade ... (full story)