DECOUPLING: China’s industrial profits fall 5.3% in Sept as trade war toll mounts.

China’s vast industrial sector has come under pressure amid trade tensions and tit-for-tat tariffs with the United States. Profits have slowed visibly since the second half of last year, though the sector has seen some transitory rebounds as Beijing steps up support measures.

The decline in profits contrasted with the slight improvement in the manufacturing sector in September, with factory surveys and better-than-expected industrial production growth pointing to a pick-up in domestic demand.

But factory gate prices, considered a key barometer of corporate profitability, fell at the steepest clip in more than three years as economic growth ground to a fresh near 30-year low in the third quarter.

Xi seems to think he holds the upper hand, since he has no voters to face. But people who can’t vote eventually express their frustrations in less peaceful ways.