Beijing should be more open about China's economic statistics and release data more frequently to increase transparency, reflect the scale and diversity of the world's second-largest economy and address investor concerns, a government adviser said.
“For the sake of stable, long-term development of capital markets, we need more comprehensive sources of statistics and information,” said Yang Chengzhang, chief economist at leading brokerage firm Shenwan Hongyuan Securities.
Yang is also a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's main political advisory body.
Comprehensive and timely data could help avoid shocks and help companies set reasonable growth expectations, Yang said on the sidelines of legislative sessions in “two sessions,” Shanghai-based newspaper The Paper reported on Monday.
The social and economic risks of youth unemployment in China remain even as interest rates rise
China has often been criticized for refusing to release some statistics while state media paints a rosy economic outlook, sparking concern among foreign investors, economists and business chambers.
In January, a revised measure was released showing that China's unemployment rate for the 16- to 24-year-old age group excluding students was 14.9 percent in December.
However, Yang called for more unofficial but reliable publications from universities and research institutes, industry associations and the media to supplement and verify official data.
He said diverse structural data feeds could reflect the new characteristics of China's economic transformation.
“The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce can make full use of its access and database of private sector data for regular publications to show the sector's well-being,” Yang added, referring to China's largest chamber of commerce.
Yang said more micro-level statistics are essential to show the operating environment and performance of companies of different types and ownership structures, and called for a focus on private and service sector companies, including monthly revenues, profits, costs, assets and liabilities.
He also called for the collection of local economic data from the northern Beijing region, Tianjin and Hebei, as well as the Yangtze River Delta and the Greater Bay Area.
The consumption statistics should also provide a more comprehensive pictureYang Chengzhang
The data should be published to reflect the weight and importance of key regions to the national economy, he said.
And as Beijing has high hopes for consumption to help achieve that goal this year Growth target of “around 5 percent”, Yang said authorities should release complete and comprehensive data as spending patterns evolve and change.
“In addition to catering services, the scope of service consumption data should be expanded to include culture and sports, tourism, accommodation and business services,” Yang said.
“Consumption statistics should also provide a more comprehensive picture, with additional data such as monthly household consumption expenditure and consumer confidence.”
But he also stressed that authorities should offer more interpretations of statistics to set the tone and take a close look at data provided by private companies or even posted by social media users to clear up misunderstandings.
Comments are closed.