Barclays Capital has been saying the Chinese economy would bottom in the second quarter, and as China heads into the third quarter this week, Barclays says it sees some green shoots sprouting up in the cracked earth.
In retrospect, the meal that heralded the new green cuisine now sprouting up in most major European cities was one I had 20 years ago, at chef Pietro Leemann's Joia, in Milan.
The poverty is all the more striking because of the richness of the setting: green and golden rolling hills, roaming horses and cattle, and tall corn and golden sunflowers sprouting from the fertile soil.