China's suspect numbers
China’s economic propaganda is that their economy is strong and growing. Facts seems to call this into question.
There are some apparently contradictory numbers coming out of China at the moment. Take car sales as an example. BYD, a noted Chinese car maker, reported 30,000 car sales of one model by end of last year, but the number plate agency recorded only 10,000 new cars of that model registered for use on the road. What happened to the other 20,000 are they running around without number plates? In a police state, I don’t think so. Our understanding is auto sales are recorded in China when they leave the factory, not when they are registered on the road. (Source.)
According to China’s “ststistics bureau” property sales by value doubled in Beijing, surged 68.5 percent in eastern Zhejiang province and climbed 61.9 percent in Shanghai during the five-month period from a year earlier. Property prices dropped 0.6 percent last month in 70 Chinese cities from a year earlier and prices jumped 0.6 percent month-on-month in May, the bureau said. (Source.)
Meanwhile, the decline in China’s exports continued to deepen in May. Merchandise exports in May fell 26.4% from a year earlier, China’s Customs agency said Thursday, accelerating from April’s 22.6% decline as global demand remained weak. China’s imports also extended their fall, dropping 25.2% in May from a year earlier after shrinking 23% in April. The weak export performance is shrinking China’s trade surplus, which at $13.39 billion for May is more than a third smaller than in the same month last year. (Source.)
Something doesn’t add up here. Imports and exports are off a steep cliff, but property sales surge? I think the hand of Beijing is behind this. Sales are up 45.3%, but prices are down 0.6%. That doesn’t fit. (Source.)
How can China actually have rising GDP despite falling exports, falling electricity consumption, falling industrial production, and rising unemployment? Something is rotten in China.
