Don't Trust Chinese State Data

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is gathering this week to officially anoint Xi Jinping as ruler for life. Nothing—not reports of genocide or perpetual COVID lockdowns—will disrupt Xi's crowning.

State-sanctioned abuses are not the only thing being scrubbed before Xi's big day. In the face of China's faltering economy, Xi has taken a common path to perceived risk: suppressing information.

In this case, the latest release of country-wide economic data was suppressed delayed until post-crowning.

The quarterly GDP figure, as well as a series of other major economic indicators including monthly retail sales, property sales and fixed-asset investment, originally slated to be released Tuesday, were marked as “delayed” ... Data on home prices across 70 major cities, scheduled for release Wednesday, has also been delayed, according to the statistics bureau website

Nothing will ruin Xi's moment. Including the truth.