Opinion is divided on state of Chinese economy, but not on its importance

It is difficult to gauge true fragility of China, but economists agree it will have profound impact on the rest of the world in 2016

It was perhaps fitting that China's latest lacklustre industrial survey was the first fragment of financial data to greet the new year. Economists are divided about the risks facing the vast Chinese economy, but agree that how they play out will have profound consequences for the rest of the world in 2016.

The optimists point to China's large and growing middle class, the vast foreign currency reserves that give Beijing ample ammunition to respond to any crisis that emerges, and the authoritarian regime that allows its policymakers to force through economic change.

Related: China manufacturing shrinks again but stimulus gives boost to house prices