China's economic woes may leave U.S. and others all but unscathed.

Judith Marks, the chief executive of the elevator maker Otis Worldwide, returned in April from a 10-day trip to China saying "all signals look positive" for the country's recovery from its draconian covid lockdown. Almost immediately, the economic outlook began to darken. The Chinese rebound that seemed to be gaining momentum in April lost steam in May and reached midsummer in danger of petering out altogether. Suddenly, the world's second-largest economy, for years a reliable juggernaut, was ailing. The core of the problem: a debt-ridden, overbuilt property sector...