China unexpectedly delayed the publication of its third-quarter gross domestic product data a day before it was originally scheduled to be released. The delay is being attributed to the Communist Party’s congress this week.
There was no announcement or reason provided to explain the delay. The National Bureau of Statistics simply changed the release dates for major economic indicators due on October 18 to “delayed” on its website Monday afternoon. There was also no information regarding a new publication date.
Economic indicators that were delayed along with the GDP include the monthly industrial output, energy production, fixed-asset investment, property investment and sales, retail sales, and home prices.
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On Friday, a similar situation happened with China’s General Administration of Customs when it did not release monthly trade data as scheduled.
The country’s ruling party holds its congress this week — an event that happens once every five years — and they are expected to give President Xi Jinping his third term as head of the party. The event has siphoned all capacity from the government, with thousands of top officials gathered in Beijing, and government personnel across all levels required to stop their regular work to focus on reviewing Xi’s work report that was delivered on Sunday.
An official at the National Development and Reform Commission on Monday told reporters that the country’s economy had “significantly improved” in the third quarter. But anything is a significant improvement coming from almost no growth in the second quarter, as the country reeled from the impact of Xi’s stringent zero-Covid policy, as well as the longest property downturn in China’s recent history.
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