No Compliance Summary
At present China does not subscribe to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standard, and has not as yet accepted an IMF mission to develop a data module of the Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes. There have been no full, published IMF Article IV Consultations reports for China since 2006, and its most recent expression of interest to fulfill SDDS subscription standards appears to have been made in 2004, in the context of that year's Article IV Consultations. China does participate in the IMF's less rigorous General Data Dissemination System (GDDS), the website of which discloses that China's many statistical agencies have set forth numerous short, medium, and long term plans for improvement, including training programs to enhance staff capabilities and professionalism and the promotion of a greater awareness of the importance of data quality in statistical work. The IMF's 2006 Article IV Consultations report describes China's economic statistics as adequate for surveillance, but notes that it remains deficient in the areas of data quality, coverage, timeliness, and periodicity. Nonetheless, the report applauds China's efforts to more closely align its statistical practices with international good practice. In a 2009 report by the IMF, the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics has indicted that it will include the subscription to the SDDS in its statistical development plan for the next eight years.
General Overview
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) website discloses that China does not subscribe to the SDDS. However, the IMF's General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) website lists China as a participant in this less rigorous program. According to China's National Bureau of Statistics website, the governing legislation is the 1983 Statistics Law of the People's Republic of China. which sets forth the statistics regime to be followed by China's government agencies, and includes confidentiality provisions protecting both individual responses and business information. The Law also sets forth principles governing the handling of data misreporting and tampering and the non-approved release of data. Further, the Law specifies fines and sanctions applicable in the case where false data is entered in statistical reports and where an entity refuses to submit statistical reports to the statistical authorities.
The GDDS website lists the Chinese government agencies that bear significant statistical responsibilities. These include the People's Bank of China (PBC), the Ministry of Finance (MoF), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the Customs General Administration (CGA), the Ministry of Education (MoE), and the Ministry of Health (MoE). All these agencies have reported a wide range of proposed short, medium, and long term improvements, including improvements in technical and professional training, promoting broader understanding of the importance of data quality in statistical work, the adoption of internationally accepted systems of classification and methodologies, producing advance-release calendars, and upgrading and expanding the use of computers in data reporting and dissemination.
The most recent publicly available, full-text IMF Article IV Consultation report is the one published in 2006. This report notes that "while China's economic statistics are adequate for surveillance purposes, weaknesses remain in the quality of data, including coverage, frequency, and timeliness" (p. 51). The report acknowledges that China has progressed significantly toward aligning its statistics with internationally recognized good practice. The country began its GDDS participation in 2002, posting data on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB). The IMF's 2006 report lists a number of areas where improvements need to be made in Chinese statistics and data reporting. With regard to the real sector, the report notes that quarterly reporting of GDP spending components are not made available, and there is no publication of constant price estimates. There are only minimal revisions of previously-published quarterly data, which is published in cumulative form. This hinders the making of seasonal adjustments and the accurate assessment of developments over time. There are deficiencies in both the price indices and techniques for making GDP estimates. Because the statistical system is decentralized, changing data collection practices is difficult. Some improvements to national accounts data had been achieved or were in progress, according to the 2006 IMF report. Coverage of service and second-industry activities was improved, for instance. On the other hand, labor market statistics were not sufficiently comprehensive, nor were they made available in a timely manner. Finally, at the time of the 2006 report, China intended to adopt the 1993 System of National Accounts (SNA93), and to improve both its income and expenditure data and its GDP quarterly estimates.
With regard to government finance statistics, the 2006 IMF report again noted "serious data shortcomings" (p. 52), including the exclusion of certain budgetary data relating to local government and external borrowing. Extra-budgetary fund data was provided with insufficient frequency and timeliness. The classification system used vis-à-vis expenditures was described as "very poor" (p. 52). The report did mention that improvements on this front were expected with the 2007 budget, for which a revised budget classification system was to be introduced. The IMF reports that China provides central and local government budget data in relatively detailed form for inclusion in the Government Finance Statistics, but provides no government debt data and only limited data on the operations of China's extra-budgetary funds. The classification system used for revenues is also inadequate. Monetary and financial data have been improved since 2002, but the surveys on which these data are based are not sufficiently detailed. Again, a part of the problem appears to be with classification and definition systems used. In addition, China's restructuring of the banking sector has given rise to new problems, but the Chinese authorities have been working with the IMF to resolve some of these issues. The IMF reports that the PBC has made the greatest strides in improving its statistical practices. It has expanded financial institution coverage and improved the classifications used, as well as improving aspects of its reporting system and the dissemination of advance release calendars on the central bank's website. It also employs the "integrated correspondence system" when reporting to the IMF. China is also creating a system of financial soundness indicators.
The 2006 IMF report also reviewed China's practices with regard to external sector statistics. It noted that SAFE uses the International Transactions Reporting System (ITRS) to develop data regarding banks' foreign exchange transactions. The IMF notes that such data "are compiled… largely in accordance with the fifth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual" (p. 53). At the time of the report, the IMF observed that China appeared close to the point where it could publish quarterly balance of payments estimates. China has received "extensive technical assistance" (p. 54) aimed at improving its statistics on both the balance of payments and the international investment position. One area where improvements in coverage would be welcomed is the coverage of direct investment transactions, affecting both balance of payments and international investment position data. The IMF does note that SAFE has promulgated a legislative guarantee aimed at improving the quality of ITRS reporting. SAFE was in the process of implementing a new management information system intended to improve balance of payment and international investment position data compilation.
Finally, the 2006 IMF report notes that the PBC reports monthly monetary data and permits the publication of those data in International Finance Statistics, although there are breaks in the series and there are no comparable historical data. Annual balance of payment data are produced for inclusion in the Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and the International Finance Statistics. Data reporting "has, in the past, tended to be sporadic and with a considerable time lag" (p. 55). However, new reporting arrangements have led to substantial improvements in the timeliness of many datasets. Still, the range of reported data remains limited, and China publishes no data on producer prices, price/unit values, trade volumes, or wages. The PBC publishes a quarterly bulletin on statistics covering monetary accounts and the principle real-sector indicators. Additional data should be published monthly, however, and such data is available should be disaggregated to a degree sufficient to permit useful analysis. The IMF adds that "extensive annual economic data are available in various statistical yearbooks, but these are published nine months or more after the end of the year.
Since the 2006 report was published, no new full-text Article IV reports have been made available to the public. The last Consultation was completed in July of 2009, per the IMF's announcement via a public information notice issued in July of that year. The full report has not been published, and the notice makes no mention of any recent improvements specific to China's movement toward SDDS eligibility or toward addressing the issues raised in earlier Article IV reports. However a 2009 report by the IMF titled, 'Report on the Technical Assistance Evaluation Mission to the People’s Republic of China,' states that the "NBS has indicated that it will include the subscription to the SDDS in its statistical development plan for the next eight years. It also indicated that it would need training in techniques of data dissemination" (p. 13). According to the report, presently, China along with Saudi Arabia is the only G20 country not to have subscribed to the SDDS.
The Principles
NCComprehensive economic and financial data, disseminated on a timely basis.
China is not listed on the IMF's SDDS website as a subscriber, but rather appears on the participant's list of the less rigorous GDDS. In the 2004 IMF Article IV Consultations report, China expressed an interest in becoming an SDDS subscriber at some future time. The 2006 IMF Article IV Consultation report found that "China's economic statistics are adequate for surveillance purposes" but pointed out that deficiencies continue to exist with regard to data quality, coverage, timeliness, and periodicity. The report notes that China continues to progress in its efforts at improvement in these areas.
NCReady and equal access to official statistics.
The IMF SDDS website discloses that China does not subscribe to the SDDS. However, the IMF's GDDS website lists China as a participant in this less rigorous program. The IMF's 2004 Article IV Consultations report asserts that China hopes to eventually become an SDDS subscriber, but no target date was announced. The GDDS website discloses that the statistical agencies of China have a number of short, medium, and long term plans for improvement, including plans by the PBC to produce advance release calendars and to broaden its channels of data dissemination.
NCOfficial statistics must have the confidence of their users. Transparency of its practices and procedures is a key factor.
The IMF SDDS website discloses that China does not subscribe to the SDDS. However, the IMF's GDDS website lists China as a participant in this less rigorous program. The 2004 IMF Article IV Consultations report asserts that China has expressed its intention to ultimately qualify for subscription to the SDDS at an unspecified future date.
NCA set of standards that deals with the coverage, periodicity and timeliness of data must also address the quality of statistics.
The IMF SDDS website discloses that China does not subscribe to the SDDS. However, the IMF's GDDS website lists China as a participant in this less rigorous program. The 2004 IMF Article IV Consultation report notes that China has expressed the intention of eventually subscribing to the SDDS. Subsequent IMF reports, however, do not take up this issue. Still, the 2006 Article IV report states that "China's economic statistics are adequate for surveillance" (p. 51), but finds that deficiencies remain in the areas of data quality. However, the report does praise China for making "significant strides in bringing its economic and financial statistics into line with international good practice" (p. 51).
