China’s Economy: An alternative view

China’s official figures both understate and overstate inflation

IS CHINA’S economy underheating? Not long ago, many people would have scoffed at the suggestion. The country is known for searing property prices, hot-money inflows and the steam escaping from its financial furnaces. The stock of outstanding credit, broadly defined, climbed to over 180% of GDP at the end of 2013, according to the central bank, and over 215%, according to an even broader measure by Fitch, a ratings agency.

But house prices are slowing, exports are weak and shadow banking is losing ground to traditional lending. Forecasters expected industrial output to grow by 9.5% in the first two months of 2014, compared with a year earlier; it grew by only 8.6%.