China is a country of wonderful complexity, but don’t expect to see that reflected in economic-growth figures. On Wednesday Beijing reported third-quarter growth of 6.7%, perfectly in line with official targets and precisely as claimed in quarters one and two, a feat of consistency never before achieved. This is a reminder that China’s statistics remain fundamentally political.

Experts on the Chinese economy have long acknowledged that Beijing smooths its data. Beijing almost certainly inflated national-growth rates during...