It is somewhat fake. Digging a hole and filling it shows up on GDP statistics even though it is pointless and adds no real wealth to the population. Chinese growth is a lot like this. A lot of production for the sake of production. They tend to have overproduction in many sectors. So they their GDP growth is made up of a lot of stuff nobody is demanding. Of course this kills profits, but since China had capital controls investors can't move their money elsewhere.

This is why Chinese growth is considered unbalanced. Also a great example of the stupidity of obsessing about GDP numbers.

Ghost cities:

http://www.dw.com/en/what-has-become-of-chinas-ghost-cities/...

China is a unique place. And an amazing place that has executed an unimaginable transformation. Obviously they embrace capitalism, but they have a central planning edge from their Communist roots.

Saying that Chinese growth is "fake" is obviously ridiculous in its face; but the metrics almost certainly are -- comparing China to Germany or the US is an apples to oranges comparison.

There's no adjustment accounting for the Chinese government saying (and funding): "go build a city there". You also don't have bullshit state enterprises that are essentially big works programs propped up by loans that will never be repaid in the west.

The veracity of China's economics reporting is wwidely questioned:

China’s recent economic weakness has revived questions about the quality of its economic data. Critics charged that official statistics overstated the economy’s growth and understated inflation in China’s economy. The recent complaints followed a long period of questioning whether China, a developing country and authoritarian state, has the institutional capacity and political will to publish accurate statistics. Because China is now the world’s second-largest economy, and is suffering from economic imbalances, the debate carries more weight than in the past.

http://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/Research/TheReliabil...

http://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/energy_watch/numbers...

Generally: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=china%27s+economic+reporting+quest...