As part of an effort to curb data fraud as the economy declines, the country’s statistics bureau said Friday that China has punished a number of local officials with demotion or dismissal for falsifying economic data.
A number of local officials with demotions or dismissal for falsifying economic data, the country’s statistics bureau said on Friday, as part of an effort to curb data fraud as the economy falters.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) found data violations in 2020 and 2021 after conducting inspections in several cities – Xingtai in Hebei province, Jiaozuo in Henan province, Bijie and Anshun in Guizhou province, the bureau said in a statement on its website.
Authorities in Hebei have punished 45 officials in Xingtai after finding some of its data on industrial output, fixed-asset investment, wholesale and retail sales were “seriously inaccurate”, it said.
In March, China’s anti-graft watchdog vowed to step up scrutiny of the country’s statistics agency and tackle the “outstanding problems” of data fraud and falsification.
China’s economy has been hit by tight COVID-19 restrictions, with many private-sector economists expecting a contraction in gross domestic product in the April-June quarter.
Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday that China would work to achieve reasonable economic growth in the second quarter and curb rising unemployment, after pulling out the raft of supportive policies.
Lee also promised to ensure that local economic indicators are published “in accordance with the law and regulations” in the second quarter.
