China has delayed releasing its latest economic growth statistics, which were due to be published when the Communist Party leadership convened.
President Xi Jinping is expected to be confirmed for a historic third term at a party congress in Beijing this week.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) did not give any reason for the delay.
Experts have described the decision as “extremely rare” and some see it as a sign of further weakness in the world’s second-largest economy.
However, Zhao Chenxin, deputy head of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, said on Monday that the country’s economy “raised significantly in the third quarter”.
“Globally, China’s economic performance is also excellent. Consumer prices have risen modestly, in contrast to high global inflation, and employment is generally stable,” he told a news conference. I told
The publication of several key economic indicators, including third quarter gross domestic product (GDP), was “postponed” on Tuesday, according to an updated NBS calendar.
The new data release date is yet to be determined.
NBS did not immediately respond to the JEE News request for comment.
Pushan Dutt, professor of economics at INSEAD University, told JEE News that the delay was an “extremely rare occurrence” because the Chinese government released data on schedule during the pandemic.
“My only guess is that these numbers are not very good and will not achieve the goal of doubling the Chinese economy in the time frame announced by President Xi Jinping,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dan Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China, believes that “the delay is not necessarily due to disappointing economic data”.
“The normal procedure of signing off these data may be affected as all top leadership is occupied during the pandemic,” he said.
Mr Xi signaled on Sunday that his controversial zero-covid strategy, which has weighed on China’s economic growth, would not be relaxed immediately.
GDP measures the size of an economy. Estimating expansion or contraction is one of the most important ways of measuring how well or poorly an economy is performing and is closely watched by economists and central banks.
China has previously indicated it may miss its 5.5 percent annual economic growth target.
The Politburo – the ruling Communist Party’s top policymaking body – did not mention the official growth target in a statement after its quarterly policy meeting in July. Instead it said it aimed to keep growth within “reasonable limits”.
Aris Peng, chief economist for Greater China at ING Bank, said she expected China’s third-quarter GDP data to “not paint an optimistic picture”.
“The delay in the data shows that the government thinks the 20th Party Congress is the most important thing happening in China, and wants to avoid other information that sends mixed messages to the market,” he told JEE News.”
