China’s leaders are downplaying their economic troubles (but seem worried the real data will get out)

In a one-party state where almost everything is the responsibility of communist party leadership, a downturn in the economy presents a really tricky problem. The same party people who are in charge also have to pass the bad news up the chain to their party bosses who in turn have to pass the news to their bosses. No one along the line wants to be the bearer of bad news that ultimately goes to the desk of President Xi Jinping, creating a powerful incentive to massage the data along the way. The AP reported on this phenomenon in China last October:Read More