The Meaning of Slow Growth in China

Eduardo Porter ends an interesting piece on declining income inequality in Latin America with a warning that the decline may not continue, insofar as exports of commodities was a major cause. The argument is that China's growth is slowing, and since China was a major market for exports, this means that growth in demand in the future might be much slower than growth in demand in the last decade.

The problem with this view, which is frequently repeated in the media, is that it ignores the fact...