China Tries an Old Remedy to Revive Its Economy: Street Stalls

China spent much of the past two decades clamping down on street vendors in its biggest cities, part of an effort to clean up the country’s image, improve food safety and hygiene and more tightly regulate commerce.

Now, with China’s economy contracting for the first time since the 1970s, Chinese leaders want to fill the streets again with hawker stalls, food trucks and other kinds of sidewalk retailers. The question is how many will be willing to heed the call, and how much street vendors can move the needle for the world’s…