China to ‘relentlessly break evil trends’ of forged data to tackle ‘outstanding problems’ of fraud

‘The problem of statistical data fraud is still relatively prominent’ in China, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI)

China has set an annual economic growth target of ‘around 5.5 per cent’ this year, but economists have questioned if the country is able to achieve it

Reading Time:1 minute

China has set an annual economic growth target of “around 5.5 per cent” this year, but economists have questioned if the country is able to achieve it amid intensifying geopolitical challenges, global commodity price inflation and a zero-Covid policy that clogs supply chains. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 2:20pm, 18 Mar 2022

China will step up scrutiny of the country’s statistics agency and tackle the “outstanding problems” of data fraud and falsification, the Communist Party’s anti-corruption inspection unit said on Friday.

While the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has “resolutely probed” and dealt with cases violating statistical discipline and laws in recent years, “the problem of statistical data fraud is still relatively prominent,” said a statement from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

The NBS publishes China’s closely watched gross domestic product (GDP) numbers, among other key data.

China has set an annual economic growth target of “around 5.5 per cent” this year, but economists have questioned if the country is able to achieve it amid intensifying geopolitical challenges, global commodity price inflation and a zero-Covid policy that clogs supply chains.

A few regions created the “illusion of economic development” by falsifying data and some local authorities issued secret instructions to intervene in manipulating data.

01:25

China aims for modest 5.5% GDP growth in 2022, citing economic pressures

Data fraud is being found in more areas, including research and development funding ratios, energy intensity and carbon intensity that typically reflects the quality of economic and social development, the anti-corruption watchdog said.