Because many rightly suspect the veracity of Beijing’s statistics, a look at local government announcements can shed new light on China’s weak economy.
Couple inspects empty shelves as IKEA prepares to close, in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 15th, 2026. Andrea Aimar/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
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Commentary
For three years running, Beijing has announced that the economy’s real economic growth has hit the officially targeted 5 percent figure. For 2026, Beijing has set a target of 4.5–5.0 percent.
Milton Ezrati is a contributing editor at The National Interest, an affiliate of the Center for the Study of Human Capital at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), and chief economist for Vested, a New York-based communications firm. Before joining Vested, he served as chief market strategist and economist for Lord, Abbett & Co. He also writes frequently for City Journal and blogs regularly for Forbes. His latest book is “Thirty Tomorrows: The Next Three Decades of Globalization, Demographics, and How We Will Live.”
