Is China’s economy stalling or transforming?

China’s exports, infrastructure, and affordable credit have fueled spectacular growth for decades. Despite posting a record-setting trade surplus with the world this year, that outdated model is losing steam.

Consumers are stifling the housing industry, the economy is crumbling, and consumer confidence is waning. Beijing now faces the most difficult challenge of all time: how to maintain the second-largest economy’s growth without heavily relying on the engines that once fueled it.