Arithmetic with Chinese characteristics, where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole

The Binhai New Area in the northern city of Tianjin – an economic zone that sparked talk of grand ambitions to create China’s answer to Manhattan from a riverside swamp – raised eyebrows this month when it announced that its GDP growth in 2016 was a third smaller than it previously stated.

-- SCMP, January 17

China is a land where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Binhai is not alone in puffing up its figures. Every province does it, I think, and every county.

For instance, the record shows a national gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016 of 74.3 trillion yuan (US$11.6 trillion). Add up the GDP figures for each of the provinces, however, and you get 78 trillion yuan.