NPR This is the indicator from planet money. I'm Darren Woods and we have a guest today.

That is me. It's Emily Fang. I'm one of NPR's international correspondence.

Emily covers China for NPR. And part of her job is to understand what the heck is going on with the world's second biggest economy

Darient confession. I think about the economy on a weekly basis.

We love to hear it.

The Chinese economy has been on my mind more so this week,

because leaders there started what they call the third plenum meeting today.

And this is a regular meeting where historically big economic policies have been decided in China,

and this year they really have their work cut out for them.

Because if you regularly listen to the indicator, you already know the economy is not doing great in China.

Things like unemployment and local debt have been up and consumption and property sales among

other indicators are down in the last couple years or so.

And this was confirmed today with China's latest gross domestic product numbers.

The economy grew only 4.7% annually.

That would be great for most countries, but for a nation like China that's used to high

growth, that's disappointing. It's also a let down for the world, which is dependent on that vigorous growth. I understand though

Emily you are looking at some non-traditional indicators today.

Uh yes I wanted to introduce your listeners to something called Bayjo. Have you ever had the pleasure of having

any by Joe Darien? I've not drunk any by gel and since you were planning an

indicator episode I did a little research.

Bai Joel is this strong liquor that is generally stronger than vodka even.

It's drunk a lot in China, I understand.

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