China to reform GDP calculation and statistics release

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 20, 2003

China to reform GDP calculation and statistics release

China will reform gross domestic product (GDP) calculation and statistics release based on international standards, so that the statistics objectively reflect the performance of the economy.

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China will reform gross domestic product (GDP) calculation and statistics release based on international standards, so that the statistics objectively reflect the performance of the economy.

Li Deshui, director of China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said in Beijing Thursday that the reform plan had been approved bythe State Council, and will be implemented by NBS.

He pointed out China's GDP calculation method, initiated in 1985, had been improved gradually. However, the calculations still had some problems due to the lack of a regular adjusting and revising mechanism. Some traditional methods did not comply with international norms, arousing some criticism from the international community.

Li said the reform plan will mainly focus on the annual and quarterly GDP calculation. Important statistics relevant to GDP and the method of calculation will be announced to the public if necessary. Monthly GDP figures would no longer be released except in special circumstances.

"China figures reliable"

Li Deshui said that the statistical methods China is adopting have met international standards, providing reliable figures.

Li denied that China has deliberately lowered the GDP figure for the first three quarters of the year, saying China conducted the statistics in accordance with the existing methods and rules, in response to a foreign journalist's question at a press conference held by the Information Office of the State Council.

Some people believe that the figures were underestimated, he said.

The director noted that the economic growth rate cannot be reckoned simply through single indices that the NBS has announced.Investment for fixed assets, for example, jumped 30.5 percent on ayearly basis from January to September, but one could not say thatthe GDP increased about 12 percent since investment contributes to40 percent of the GDP, because some investment -- for the purchaseof land, old factories and equipment -- do not contribute to GDP growth on a timely basis.

He said that the SARS epidemic affected China's economy "very severely", citing that the value of social services declined year-on-year 14.8 percent in the first half of the year and the combined traffic volume decreased for the first 10 months.

Due to frequent natural disasters, the agricultural value recorded only a slight increase -- 2.8 percent -- for the first three quarters, which also brought down China's economic growth rate.

China's economy grew 8.5 percent from January to September according to the NBS figures.

Li Deshui said that China will, however, seek to improve statistical methods, catering to domestic conditions and the socialist market economy.

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