The latest indignity for China’s flawed recovery

China’s disappointing recovery appears to be suffering another indignity. Neighbours whose economic fortunes were supposed to be tied to the heft of the country’s rebound from the pandemic seem to be doing pretty well without it. Far from being pushed into a slump, some bellwethers had a thoroughly respectable year. Bullishness about China was abundant when President Xi Jinping began to dismantle COVID zero at the end of 2022. Credit: AP Singapore, which had been dogged for part of 2023 by fear of recession, finished strongly. South Korea’s economy closed out December with solid momentum. Markets across Asia have been obsessed with…