Chinese authorities need to raise economic game

Beijing

SLOWING growth, slumping stocks, suspect data: the world's second-largest economy is sending shockwaves through global markets, and flailing authorities appear increasingly asleep at the wheel, say analysts.

The Shanghai Composite Index recorded its biggest fall for more than eight years on Monday, renewing the plunges in China's benchmark stock index. It comes as pessimism about the state of the country's broader economy is intensifying, forming a lethal combination that has sent global markets into a tailspin.