Customers buy fireworks in Beijing

The numbers making news around China during the week of Feb 4, 2013

5.8 trillion yuan
The discrepancy between China’s national GDP figure and the sum of all provinces’ reported GDPs. Deliberately inflated figures from local officials are largely being blamed for this discrepancy. The amount is roughly equal to the GDP of Guangdong – China’s richest province - leading some to label the figure a “phantom province.” International Herald Tribune

11 percent
Growth in China’s used car market last year. Comparatively, new car sales growth was just 7.1 percent. Within seven years, used cars could make up half of all car sales in the country.Reuters

240 million
China’s vehicle population last year. Bloomberg

395 billion yuan
Amount China’s “Big Four” banks extended in new loans during the first 27 days of January. This is up from 320 million in January of 2012. Caixin

60 percent
Proportion of particulate emissions that come from large trucks in China, despite the fact that they make up only 5 percent of the country’s vehicles. Reuters

12 million yuan
Amount awarded to Kim Lee in her divorce case from Crazy English founder Li Yang. The Beijing court found that Li had been abusive and also issued a restraining order against him. This was the first time the Beijing court has taken such an action. Global Times

750,000 
Number of firework cartons that will go on sale this year in Beijing, down from 810,000 in 2012. Official have asked Beijing residents to set off fewer fireworks for Spring Festival in response to extreme air pollution over the past month. China.org.cn