Data culled from China’s most-used search engine, biggest online outlet and main bank-card network are signaling stabilization in the nation’s economy.

Three alternative indicators suggest less of a deceleration in the world’s second-largest economy, and reduced risk of a hard landing. That was also the conclusion of a private survey released this week showing little danger of economic collapse after the stock-market plunge and currency devaluation.

"The economy is still stable and we don’t see much volatility in consumption," said Zhao Meng, Shanghai-based founder of UnionPay Advisors Co., which tracks bank-card spending data in real time to measure consumption patterns across various industries. "People still have the buying power."

With China’s economy set to be a key focus of his first state visit to the U.S. this week, President Xi Jinping told the Wall Street Journal his government will emphasize “developing an innovation and consumption-driven economy” and stick with reforms despite a slowdown. 

David Fuller's view

This makes sense to me.  However, I maintain that China’s recent mishandling of its stock market has temporarily damaged investor confidence in its equities.