Hello welcome and thanks for downloading the More Less Podcast.

We are, you might say, your weekly touchstone for the numbers in the news and elsewhere

in life that either tickle your curiosity or sound your inner alarm.

This week's number is 3.9%.

That's China's third quarter GDP figure which in fairness was better than many analysts

expected but still significantly short of the 5.5% target they had set themselves.

Quick explainer stroke reminder to get out of the way here.

GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product in brief it pins a number to the output of an economy

and is supposed to tell us how big that economy is along with whether or not it's growing.

Now there was an unprecedented delay in releasing this particular GDP stat and that delay

coincided with what's called the 20th Party Congress.

A biolicounts Gloom affair where top brass from China's ruling communist party, the CCP,

got together to amongst other things reelect or some might say re-enoying their leader.

Xi Jinping has become the most powerful leader in China in decades after being given a

delay.

The delay sparked suspicion, Tongs wagged furiously the world over and in hushed tones

questions were asked.

For most amongst them were did Xi Jinping postpone the release of the GDP figure so it wouldn't

turn us his re-election for a historic third term and ratcheting up the controversy

a further notch can the figure itself at 3.9% really be trusted.

For at least the last 10 years there has been a certain skepticism among various economies

in the West about the data that the Chinese government publishes on its GDP growth.

...