China punishes officials for falsifying data

China has punished a number of local officials with demotions or dismissal for falsifying economic data, the country's statistics bureau said on Friday, as part of an effort to curb data fraud as the economy falters.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) found data violations in 2020 and 2021 after conducting inspections in several cities - Xingtai in Hebei province, Jiaozuo in Henan province, Bijie and Anshun in Guizhou province, the bureau said in a statement on its website.

Authorities in Hebei have punished 45 officials in Xingtai after finding some of its data on industrial output, fixed-asset investment, wholesale and retail sales were "seriously inaccurate", it said.

Authorities in Henan have taken disciplinary and organizational actions against 38 officials for data violations, it said.