China’s looking-glass economy

The world this week

Leaders

Going dark

The real problem with China’s economy

The country risks making some of the mistakes the Soviet Union did

Monster vehicles

What to do about America’s killer cars

The country’s roads are nearly twice as dangerous as the rich-world average. It doesn’t have to be that way

Starmer wearing  glasses with question marks , yellow stars in the background

Red lines

The Labour government’s worrying lack of ambition in Europe

Sir Keir Starmer is trapped by the mindset of the post-Brexit years

Björn Höcke, AfD lead candidate in Thuringia, can be seen behind flags.

AfDer Thuringia

How to deal with the hard-right threat in Germany

As extremists win more votes across Europe, forming moderate and effective governments is getting harder

A supporter holds statues of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Claudia Sheinbaum while attending the state of the union report in Mexico City, Mexico on September 1st 2024

Constitutional chaos

A make-or-break moment for Mexico

In America’s biggest trading partner the rule of law and democracy are under attack

Target board with social media icons panicking with gunshot holes around them

Blocked and reported

As Brazil bans Elon Musk’s X, who will speak up for free speech?

Free expression has become a culture war, and those who should defend it are staying quiet

Letters

On exposure to the sun, education, Sudan, Robert Kennedy, growing up, cold-war diplomacy

Letters to the editor

By Invitation

Artificial intelligence and society

Large language models will upend human rituals

Briefing

An illustration depicting Chinese authorities attempting to cover economic information with a large Chinese flag.

Lowering the veil

The Chinese authorities are concealing the state of the economy

But the Communist Party’s internal information systems may also be flawed

China

The Economist reads

Economic & financial indicators