Beijing has often addressed economic troubles by boosting spending on infrastructure and real estate, but now heavy debt loads make that a hard playbook to follow.
Consumers and business owners say they feel paralyzed by despair, and their reluctance to spend and borrow is feeding what could become a dangerous cycle.
The fate of Indonesia’s unrivaled stocks of nickel — a critical mineral used to make batteries for electric vehicles — is caught in the conflict between the United States and China.