- Affected by a slowdown in exports to China, etc.,against the backdrop of US-China trade disputes - (Companies researched: 23,035; Valid responses: 9,856; Response rate: 42.8%; Survey start date: May 2002) Overview of January 2019: Signs of entering a recession phase The economic diffusion index (DI) in January 2019 was 48.1, down 1.3 points from the previous month, and worsened for the second consecutive month. In addition to a slowdown in exports to China, the climate’s