Consistent with this notion, the trend toward greater product fragmentation has slowed in recent years. 6  See, for example, European Central Bank (2016), Hoekman (2015), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2016), and Lewis and Monarch (2016). -6-  Finally, of course, China looms large in any discussion of the global trade slowdown.
Not only is China’s trade being affected by all of the factors just discussed, but on-going structural changes within the Chinese economy, including rebalancing toward domestic demand, are exerting an independent effect on world trade flows. So, let’s look next at China in more detail.