Ma Jiantang urge govt to prevent manipulation of stats and punish such acts

[shiv]

China's National Bureau of Statistics said that the false reporting of economic data by eager-to-please officials is a danger to the country's development. (Photo/CFP)

Ma Jiantang, director of China's National Bureau of Statistics, recently said that some government officials had reported fake data, hurting the government's credibility. Ma urged local governments to prevent the manipulation of statistics and punish such acts.

Ma said the country's economic momentum could be achieved only if there was trust in the system and its future vision. China's economy is at a turning point and its transformation was contingent on the amount of confidence domestic and foreign investors have in its investment environment. Such investor confidence has to be established on a foundation of reliable statistical data, Ma said.

China's official version of the March PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) rose to 53.1, while its Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index surged to 58, signaling that China's economic growth remains strong.

However, the PMI released by HSBC China, which was 48.3 for March, indicated a slowdown.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose slightly from 3.2% in February to 3.6% in March. However, since China's oil and vegetable prices continued rising, these figures did not reflect the real level of inflation as far as the public is concerned.

The significant discrepancies between official and non-official statistics and between statistics and public perceptions have sparked concern.

It is unrealistic to try to evaluate China's true economic state merely using statistical data. Therefore, Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice Premier Li Keqiang recently visited Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan and Zhejiang to get a grasp on the situation at the grassroots level.

China faces difficulties in compiling accurate statistics due to the complex picture presented by weak growth in investment, sluggish foreign demand and the difficulty faced by small and medium enterprises in obtaining loans.

Meanwhile, the different sources of data for official and non-official statistics also led to varying results.

To resolve problems related to inaccurate economic data, authorities have launched statistical reforms. Since Feb. 18, China's 700,000 enterprises began submitting data to a government-designated statistical center through the internet. Furthermore, local governments are no longer allowed to interfere with the reporting of data by enterprises.

The central government also published instances of data manipulation at local levels to warn local governments not to use fake data to conceal economic problems.

Damn lies: Economic statistics don't give the whole picture

 

[SinoChallenger]

LOL but in india fake numbers are encouraged by all parties and all babus. Anything to help 90% defecating indians delude themselves about shining incredible superpower.

 

[India defense]

Face saving act...but too late...world already seen China's ugly face

 

[somebozo]

self correction and critisizm far better than having errors discovered by international experts and then silently correct.
The Chinese admission and encouragement affirmed two thing:

1. The problem of manipulation does exists.
2. It is not backed by Chinese government and they are keen to fix the problem.

 

[Splurgenxs]

self correction and critisizm far better than having errors discovered by international experts and then silently correct.
The Chinese admission and encouragement affirmed two thing:

1. The problem of manipulation does exists.
2. It is not backed by Chinese government and they are keen to fix the problem.

if true then its even worse..its means its ingrained in the Chinese psyche.


there are two +ve points in overstating figures ,when a govt does it.

-U can manipulate the timing of ratings via credit rating agencies.(sometime to reap good benefits with regars to inflows)
-and manipulate the stock markets by periodically revealing +ve and negative info.

im pretty sure there govt is trying to save face and keep the populace reigned in.
u need a lot many people to put in collective false data to actually project a desired output figures on a country wide lvl.

 

[timetravel]

So finally the ccp had to come in to try to save the face... seems that report has had some deep effects... the chinese on this forum were trying to act smart... but even the ccp had to face the bitter truth and make an effort to try to downplay it....

now china is exposed finally... every thing done in china should be measurred by independent analysts... there should be zero trust on any chinese govt data or figure... i bet even if there is some year -ve growth in China, you will hear voices of 6-7% growth from CCP.. and NOTHING LESS

 

[twocents]

self correction and critisizm far better than having errors discovered by international experts and then silently correct.
The Chinese admission and encouragement affirmed two thing:

1. The problem of manipulation does exists.
2. It is not backed by Chinese government and they are keen to fix the problem.

If we add up the GDP figures of all the provinces in China we will always find that these figures are 1 or 2 percentage points higher that those released by the central government. There are two main reasons. One is technical, i.e. double counting of goods and services across provincial borders. The other is local officials' desire to look good. more feathers in their cap leading to promotions in the future which they hope. The central government is fully aware of it and its figures are much more reliable.