Gao’s sin? Saying that China may have grown just 2% over the last two or three years, less than half the rate Xi’s government claims. The reason Gao is allegedly being silenced is for shining a brighter-than-usual spotlight on one of the biggest perception problems facing Xi’s Communist Party: that China routinely cooks the GDP books.

China’s economy grew more than expected in the last three months of 2024, official data showed on Friday, as it awaits the likely imposition of fresh tariffs by US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next week.

China’s economy hit the government’s growth goal last year after an 11th hour stimulus blitz and export boom turbocharged activity, although looming US tariffs threaten to take away a key driver of expansion.

China's new homes prices were flat month-on-month in December, official data showed on Friday, after the government rolled out multiple rounds of stimulus measures to lift the property sector from a prolonged slump.

China’s decline in home prices abated for a fourth month in December, reflecting signs of market stabilization after the government’s latest stimulus blitz.

Prices across 70 major cities fell in December by the smallest percentage in 18 months, and prices in the four biggest metropolises rose.