China claims ‘biggest corruption in statistical sphere’ amid fake data crackdown

Name: China GDP: Beijing’s long to-do list to boost its economy in 2024
Uploaded: 2024-01-23T12:30:09.000Z
Duration: 2 min 31 s
Description: China GDP: Beijing’s long to-do list to boost its economy in 2024

China’s push against data fabrication has been ‘greatly strengthened’ after the practice was added to the Communist Party’s disciplinary regulations last month

Severely harmful fraudulent statistics ‘damages the credibility of the party and government’, according to the statistics bureau

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The accuracy of China’s economic data has long been questioned, as many feel there is a gap between reality on the ground and the official figures. Photo: Shutterstock

Mandy Zuoin Shanghai

Published: 8:30pm, 23 Jan 2024

China has sent one of its strongest warnings against falsifying data, calling the practice “the biggest corruption in the statistical sphere” after it became a violation of Communist Party discipline.

Data fabrication was written into a revision of the party’s disciplinary regulations last month, which “greatly strengthened” the constraints to prevent and curb statistical fraud, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

Severely harmful fraudulent statistics “interfere with and mislead macro decision-making” and “damage the credibility of the party and government”, the bureau added.

People involved in faking data, or those who neglect their supervisory duties, would receive punishments ranging from a warning to expulsion from the party, according to last month’s amendment.

02:31

China GDP: Beijing’s long to-do list to boost its economy in 2024

The warning on Monday came amid market scepticism over China’s upbeat 5.2 per cent year-on-year growth in 2023.

China’s economic recovery momentum seemed to have slowed again in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three months, while local governments are under pressure to seek a strong start this year.

Beijing is still facing a daunting task to ensure a sustained and robust economic growth this year by resolving a property market crisis, finding new robust growth engines and alleviating job pressure.