Comment by tokioyoyo
People say this, but it’s also not the exact reality. You can verify a lot of things, like import/export data. Basically import stats from one country should match China’s export to that country stat and so on.
People just have trouble understanding the complexity of China, and assume nothing they say can be true. It has a lot of problems, but progress and ability to make money isn’t one.
The weird thing is the combination of substance and cheating. It is often a correct assumption that cheating implies no substance - but that is a mistake when it's about China.