From Beat the Dart

Are Chinese numbers cooked? Right now the world is betting that China will bailout the economies by growth rate of 10% in the next 12 months. China reported that industrial production was up 7% in the last quarter. That number appears bogus, since energy consumption was down 5% in the last quarter and continues to contract.

Energy consumption is an external number not subject to government intervention. Oil imports into China are at a 12-month low. So what’s the deal?