Economists are debating the possibility that China’s economy could have a “hard-landing” or lengthy recession. For most Chinese businesses, the slowdown has become a reality. The question that concerns those businesses most is how to keep going. In the Chinese city of Yiwu, sellers are feeling the effects of a slowing economy. But they also are finding ways to weather the storm. Henry Kou’s family has been in the porcelain business for many years. The family business was good when China’s economy was booming. But now, the economy is growing at its slowest rate in more than 25 years. The market for dinner plates and other porcelain products is weak. Over the past two years, Henry Wou says, sales have dropped by 20 percent. To keep afloat, he has cut production and packaging costs, even his own profits. “Our customers are really hurting too, so we’ve tried to limit our profits in the hope that we can keep business going.” He sells porcelain products in Yiwu’s huge wholesale market.
Title: Chinese Businesses Struggle as Economy Slows
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/bus_audio.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Chinese Businesses Struggle as Economy Slows' data-article-id='1546'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='10375'>Economists are debating the possibility that China’s economy could have a “hard-landing” or lengthy recession.</span> <span data-start-time='10375' data-end-time='16458'>For most Chinese businesses, the slowdown has become a reality.</span> <span data-start-time='16458' data-end-time='23396'>The question that concerns those businesses most is how to keep going.</span> <span data-start-time='23396' data-end-time='30917'>In the Chinese city of Yiwu, sellers are feeling the effects of a slowing economy.</span> <span data-start-time='30917' data-end-time='35646'>But they also are finding ways to weather the storm.</span> <span data-start-time='35646' data-end-time='41417'>Henry Kou’s family has been in the porcelain business for many years.</span> <span data-start-time='41417' data-end-time='46542'>The family business was good when China’s economy was booming.</span> <span data-start-time='46542' data-end-time='53458'>But now, the economy is growing at its slowest rate in more than 25 years.</span> <span data-start-time='53458' data-end-time='59375'>The market for dinner plates and other porcelain products is weak.</span> <span data-start-time='59375' data-end-time='67396'>Over the past two years, Henry Wou says, sales have dropped by 20 percent.</span> <span data-start-time='67396' data-end-time='76042'>To keep afloat, he has cut production and packaging costs, even his own profits.</span> <span data-start-time='76042' data-end-time='85292'>“Our customers are really hurting too, so we’ve tried to limit our profits in the hope that we can keep business going.”</span> <span data-start-time='85292' data-end-time='91292'>He sells porcelain products in Yiwu’s huge wholesale market.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/china_img.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=6214 data-hint-location='41417' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/what_does_booming_mean.m4a'>What does booming mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='doing very well'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/a_new_way.m4a'><span>a new way</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/a_material_made_of_baked_clay.m4a'><span>a material made of baked clay</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/to_get_through_a_difficult_situation.m4a'><span>to get through a difficult situation</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/doing_very_well.m4a'><span>doing very well</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=6215 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/what_might_chinas_economy_experience_in_the_future.m4a'>What might China's economy experience in the future?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='recession'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/increase.m4a'><span>increase</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/jump.m4a'><span>jump</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/recession.m4a'><span>recession</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/stabilization.m4a'><span>stabilization</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=6216 data-hint-location='23396' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/sellers_are_feeling_the_effects_of_a_slowing__blank_.m4a'>Sellers are feeling the effects of a slowing <span class='blank'>economy</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='economy'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/presidency.m4a'><span>presidency</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/economy.m4a'><span>economy</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/election.m4a'><span>election</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1072/war.m4a'><span>war</span></div></div></div><div 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