China's GDP up 8.9 percent and no one knows why

China's GDP rose 8.9 percent in the third quarter and there are plenty of arguments, none of them conclusive, about what caused the rapid improvement.

Clearly one cause, if not the major cause, for the recovery is the Chinese $585 billion stimulus package. For a nation with a $4.2 trillion GDP it represents a fortune spent on developing the country's infrastructure, new building projects, consumer spending and investment. But like all stimulus packages, it is temporary, and some economists worry that it has worked too well, creating bubbles in sectors like real estate and the equity markets. There is speculation that the central government could rein in its contribution in order to prevent inflation.