Consider one telling statistic: China’s official gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate dropped from 15 percent in 2007 to 6 percent in 2019. That was already the slowest rate in thirty years, and then the COVID-19 pandemic pushed China’s economy into the red. A growth rate of 6 percent would still be spectacular, but only if it were true. Rigorous studies based on objectively observable data—such as electricity use, construction, tax revenues, and railway freight—show that China’s true growth rate is roughly half the official figure and China’s economy is 20 percent smaller than reported.60
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