China doesn't report false numbers the way some democracies like India and the US are trying to do (upheaving the statistical agencies), or most autocracies do (outright fraud about the numbers). What they do is a different kind of reporting that I've seen typical for similar countries. Language twisting, different interpretation, different naming even. Slowing GDP growth? They'll take the GDP PPP and use that for news bites. Construction bust and crash? Nah, splendid increase in affordable housing supply. Korean War? LoL no, War of American Aggression in the Korean Peninsula.