Data Photo: VCG

China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday vowed to thoroughly investigate and deal with cases of violations of discipline and laws in statistics and will adopt a zero-tolerance stance, in line with the newly revised Regulations on Communist Party of China (CPC) Disciplinary Action.

China has been stepping up a crackdown on statistics fraud. The inclusion of "statistics fraud" in items related to violations of Party discipline will significantly deter statistics fraud cases and improve the quality of data and policymaking, experts said. 

An official from the NBS on Monday briefed the media about the scope of the disciplinary actions against statistics fraud, according to the revised Regulations on CPC Disciplinary Action released in December.
 
"Fraud is the biggest form of corruption in the field of statistics. It seriously violates statistical laws, seriously affects the quality of statistical data, and interferes with or even misleads macro-decision-making," the official said in a statement, noting that statistical fraud violates the CPC's work ethics and damages the credibility of the Party and the government. 

In December 2023, the CPC Central Committee released the revised Regulations on CPC Disciplinary Action and urged in a circular that all localities and departments should faithfully implement the regulations. Statistical fraud was added to violations of Party discipline. 

According to the regulations, those directly or primarily responsible for statistical fabrication will be given a warning or even expelled from the Party according to the seriousness of the case. 

The NBS will seriously investigate and handle statistical fraud cases, especially those involving leading cadres' interference in statistical work and statisticians' participation in statistical falsification, and deal with each case firmly, and it will not tolerate any statistical fraud, the official said.

Statistical fraud is illegal in China, and the addition of statistical fraud in the regulations on Party disciplinary action shows the great importance attached to the quality of data, experts noted. 

"Whether at companies, local governments or the central government, data must be accurate. Only true data can reflect the actual situation of the country, so as to help formulate feasible macro policies," Ye Qing, former deputy head of the statistics bureau of Central China's Hubei Province, told the Global Times on Monday. 

"This is relatively comprehensive," he said. "Accurate statistics are a basis for scientific decision-making. False statistical data will have a negative impact on economic development and people's welfare."

From the perspective of disciplinary responsibility, those engaged in statistical fraud and those who neglected statistical fraud will be punished, depending on the severity of the case and the consequences, according to the NBS official. 

Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, said that the Party disciplinary regulations on statistical fraud are very significant and carry great significance. 

"I think this actually reflects our emphasis on and further regulation of Party members and leading cadres, and social and economic management work, especially statistical work," Cong told the Global Times on Monday. 

The NBS has been conducting regular inspections across the country to root out statistical fraud and improve the quality of social and economic data. 

It launched a new round of regular inspections from late November that will focus on six provincial-level regions and two central government organs, according to the Xinhua News Agency.