China vows to punish local government officials for forging economic data
Head of the National Bureau of Statistics admits wrongdoing by some local cadres, amid widespread scepticism about the reliability of Chinese data
Some local government officials in China have forged economic data and offenders will be severely punished, the country’s statistics chief wrote in an article in the People’s Daily on Thursday.
There has long been widespread global scepticism about the reliability of Chinese data, especially as the government has sought to tamp market expectations of a protracted slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.
Statistical fraud and violation of statistical law and regulations have been uncovered in some places, Ning Jizhe, the head of the National Bureau of Statistics, wrote in the article.
The authorities will show “zero tolerance” for such behaviour and local officials will be severely punished if they are found fabricating data to help safeguard the credibility of the government, Ning said.
China will also improve the quality of its economic data, he added.