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Economy & Finance

Know the Numbers

Making sense of Chinese economic data

20198 min read
Archive Notice: This article was originally published on macropolo.org on 2019. MacroPolo was the Paulson Institute's in-house think tank (2018–2024). This archived version preserves the original research for continued citation and reference.

Chinese economic statistics have long been viewed with skepticism. But dismissing all official data misses the useful signals embedded in the numbers—if you know how to read them.

What the Data Actually Shows

Rather than focusing on headline GDP growth, experienced China watchers look at electricity consumption, freight volumes, and credit data for more reliable signals.