China’s Bureau of Statistics finally released third-quarter economic data on Oct. 24, after an unusual delay prompted speculation about the state of its economy.
The numbers were originally scheduled to be released during the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which ran Oct. 16–22. Authorities postponed the release of key data such as China’s GDP unexpectedly and without explanation.
Analyzing the delay, experts anticipated the numbers would be poor, indicating that China could be headed for a recession.
Justifying this lack of confidence, while third-quarter data showed China’s GDP rose 3.9 percent, on Oct. 27 the bureau admitted that from January to September profits of industrial enterprises above the national scale fell 2.3 percent….