New Delhi, Dec. 8 -- China remains one of the world's most powerful economies, with its influence still expanding in critical sectors. Its high-tech industries continue to grow, it is pushing aggressively for leadership in artificial intelligence, and its dominance over rare-earth minerals recently helped it clinch a trade truce with Washington.

Yet beneath these strengths, a broader slowdown is settling in. Manufacturing has contracted for eight straight months, investment has recorded its steepest drop since 2020, and exports, long a pillar of growth, shrank in October. Domestic consumer confidence remains weak, reflected in sluggish retail sales.

In past downturns, markets looked to Beijing for heavy stimulus to steady growth. This t...