The underpants index is used to describe China's economy

On December 26, 2018, the global times, a state-run Chinese newspaper, quoted the men's underwear index as describing the economic growth of liaoning province in China, a move that drew ridicule from the us media.

According to a commentary published by the New York times on January 2, 2019, global times, a Chinese state-run media, reported that the surge in sales of boxers and briefs in liaoning province is good news for the province with many economic problems, which shows that the economy of the province is recovering.
Commenting on the newspaper's use of the "unorthodox" economic indicators and its assertion that they were "inconsistent" with China's basic economic expectations, the article used the term "eclectic" and pointed out that the general public and even some economists usually pay attention to these indicators when economics doesn't work. The newspaper's approach is "understandable" at a time when China's economy is set to slow and negotiations between the two countries are in limbo.
Male underwear index, it said, is not for the global times, before the global financial crisis, the federal reserve chairman Alan Greenspan's then (Alan Greenspan) had advocated the index, then the American media began to use the index to describe the economic recovery, but the truth is, "recovery" and then the index is a reflection of the real recovery differ for a year.
On the other hand, analysts have pointed out that industrial profits, production and consumption figures have been rising in liaoning province, which has been linked to Beijing's efforts to revive the region's economy, but on a relatively low basis.
In addition, the article notes that other unusual indexes have achieved varying degrees of success, such as the Big Mac Index, which helps to understand exchange rates, and the lipstick Index and High Heels Index, which reflect economic conditions. In China, where there is a lack of trust in official data, informal indicators such as the Pickle Index, which measures urbanization and the number of migrants, are more popular.
It is understood that the two countries negotiators on January 7, for the New Year in the first round of trade talks, responsible for negotiations with China the United States on behalf of Wright jersey (Robert Lighthizer) though not in the list in China on behalf of, but on January 1, told the President of the United States (Donald Trump) Trump, in order to make significant concessions from China in trade negotiations, may require additional tariffs on Chinese imports. He also warned us representatives coming to China for talks that he intended to prevent Mr Trump from accepting China's "empty promises" to buy agricultural products.