Economists’ Reports Examining China’s Growth Deleted From WeChat

Two reports, and possibly more, by well-known economists which questioned China’s economic data have been deleted from Chinese social media site WeChat, Bloomberg reported Thursday (March 17).

Per the report, this indicates that the government is sensitive about the economy. A post by JD.com Chief Economist Shen Jianguang has argued that there were numerous contradictions in the data.

That post was taken down with an error message saying it had “violated regulations” and had been taken down due to “relevant complaints,” but Bloomberg that there weren’t any other explanations.

In addition, a similar post by China Evergrande Group’s ex-economist Ren Zeping called out a “mismatch” between the strong data report and weak data. That report also seemed to be missing, and there was another post removed by an internet user mocking the way the figures were surprising.

Tencent, which moderates the content on Wechat, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

China reported stronger-than-expected economic data for the first two months of the year on Tuesday (March 15), touting strong growth in consumer spending, investment and industrial output.

Despite the weakening of the housing market and less output in important construction goods like cement or steel, the data showed a rise in investments, leading some to question the accuracy of the data.

PYMNTS wrote that the last two stock market sessions in China have alluded to the outsized impact that government efforts can have, either way, with both words and deeds.

Read more: China’s Stock Snapback Comes as Big Tech Regulatory Fears Recede, for Now

The Hang Seng, on Thursday (March 17), had surged 7% at the time of the PYMNTS report, and it had improved 9% the day before. In addition, the Hang Seng had been outpacing the broader index on Thursday and had ended around 7.8% higher.

Within the tech index, companies like Alibaba had gotten double-digit gains. This rally saw a quick reversal from earlier in the week. Then, the indices had notched their worst closing since 2016.

A rebound happened after Chinese officials commented on state-run media that regulations would be “transparent and predictable.”