The overstated great fall of China

CHINA has issued its latest set of economic figures.

They reveal that in the first quarter of 2014, annual growth in GDP stood at 7.4% — down slightly from the 7.7% growth recorded in the preceding quarter.

What’s not to like? Many nations would chew off their right arms, so to speak, to be able to come up with such figures. But, can we trust the statistics? Many say that we cannot, and that the books have been cooked.