Between fire and ice

The stark contrast between stronger-than-expected investment growth and the worst slump in exports in more than a decade highlights the huge challenge for China to change its growth model. However, difficult as it may be, Chinese policymakers need to work harder to boost consumption as a driving force of the economy.

China's urban fixed-asset investment for the first five months of the year surged 32.9 percent year on year, compared with a 30.5 percent gain through April. The acceleration of investment growth will surely lend credence to the optimistic view that the Chinese economy has bottomed out - the first of the world's major economies.

Nevertheless, the country's export figure depicts a different picture.