China is currently experiencing ~1% deflation (official PPI) alongside 4% nominal growth*. That makes the suitable comparison not Japan or any post-war era economies, but the United States’ 19th-century Long Depression (1873-1896). Despite its name, the Long Depression was misleading for the U.S., which saw real per capita growth exceeding 4.5% and nominal GDP growth over 3% during the period. The 1873 financial market panic cast an outsized shadow over economic advancements, even as the US surpassed Britain and became the largest economy of that time.

China now share key similarities with the US then:  
1. Supply-Driven Deflation and Industrial Growth: Technological advancements and efficiency improvements drove real industrial growth and energy transion, leading to lower prices. 
2. Aftermath of Infrastructure Booms: Massive investments in infrastructure spurred economic expansion in the previous periods but eventually came to an end. For the US, it was railroads, and for China, it is real estate.  
3. Outsized Financial Market Framing: Both eras were marred by significant financial market turmoil. For China, the depressed stock market and real estates. For the US, the 1873 panic.
4. Constrained Monetary Policy: gold standard limited the US money supply while China need to partially follow global high interest rates.

Even more evidence for @yuenyuenang's Gilded Age twins comparison.

*(corroborated with public listed firms' revenue growth like BABA(+4%), JD(+5%), PDD(+44%))