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Bill Radke: Speaking of China carbon footprint, that country’s industrial engine continues to crank. Today, the Chinese government released figures that suggest a factory working at full-tilt. From Shanghai, Marketplace’s Scott Tong asks, is this a sign the global economy is coming back?

Scott Tong: Chinese factories put out 19 percent more stuff in November than they did last November — stuff like steel, coal and cars. And to keep the lights on at those plants, power generation surged the most in five years. Also up: Chinese imports, things like iron ore from Australia and oil from the Middle East.

But for all the activity, inflation’s so far muted. If you cut out food, Chinese consumer prices continued to decline.

Early in this recovery, the Chinese government’s stimulus played an active role. But last month, state investment in infrastructure tapered off, as did government lending.

The private sector seems to be recovering independent of the government, even exports. Demand from the U.S. and Europe remains down, but Chinese exports to Southeast Asia gained 20 percent.

In Shanghai, I’m Scott Tong for Marketplace.