The man in charge of safeguarding China’s economic statistics is under investigation for potential corruption.
China’s Central Commission on Discipline Inspection announced Tuesday that Wang Bao’an, party chief and director of the country’s National Bureau of Statistics, is under investigation for “serious violations of party discipline.”
Beijing uses the phrase “violations of party discipline” as a euphemism for graft or corruption.
The surprise announcement, which is bound to raise new questions about the accuracy of Beijing’s economic statistics, came just hours after Wang briefed reporters on the state of China’s economy.
China’s economic statistics have come under fire in recent years from analysts and economists who say they are artificially inflated. Some are convinced that China is outright cooking its books. Others debate the accuracy of certain data and point to more meaningful alternatives like electricity consumption or rail freight.
