Shipping containers at the Port of Taicang in Taicang, Jiangsu Province, China. The fortunes of the Chinese economy, in particular its property market, represent one of the risks to the global economy. Photograph: Bloomberg The last four years have brought three huge shocks: Covid; post-Covid supply disruption; and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent surges in commodity prices. Is this series of vast shocks now over? The deadly assault on Israel and conflict in Gaza suggests that the answer may be “no”. Recent turmoil in bond markets is another mark of persistent lack of predictability. Thus, the carefully prepared...