HONG KONG — The outlook for the Chinese economy may finally be looking a little less worrisome.

Data released by the authorities in Beijing on Friday painted a picture of an economy that has lost much of the breakneck speed of previous years and that still relies on government-directed stimulus, but that started to regain some momentum last month.

“The economy is not zooming off to the moon, but it is taking off again,” said David Carbon, economist at DBS Bank in Singapore. “It is not an issue of whether China will have a hard or soft landing anymore — China began to take off again three or four months ago.”  Read more