Xu thinks that the underestimation of CPI is directly linked with the residents’ dissatisfaction with commodity prices.
In the report, he calls for greater transparency on how the CPI is calculated.
Dr. Cheng Xiaonong, economic commentator, told The Epoch Times, “I personally believe that the gap is much wider. The National Bureau of Statistics of China has a basic policy to underestimate [CPI].”
Cheng added that in democratic countries, the statistical bureau’s job is to objectively collect and publish data; but in China, the National Bureau of Statistics is not only a statistical bureau, but a de facto spokesperson for the Party. It has to follow orders from the communist regime and the data it publishes is influenced by Party politics.
“It has several methods to suppress CPI and then explain to the public how the CPI is correct,” Cheng said. “People suspect the data is wrong, but the problem is that the Bureau never publishes how the statistics are calculated, the type of products it sampled,” etc.
If the methodology and other factors used to calculate CPI were made public, people would see how the data was manipulated, Cheng said; which is why such information is kept secret.
Read the original Chinese article.
In the report, he calls for greater transparency on how the CPI is calculated.
Dr. Cheng Xiaonong, economic commentator, told The Epoch Times, “I personally believe that the gap is much wider. The National Bureau of Statistics of China has a basic policy to underestimate [CPI].”
Cheng added that in democratic countries, the statistical bureau’s job is to objectively collect and publish data; but in China, the National Bureau of Statistics is not only a statistical bureau, but a de facto spokesperson for the Party. It has to follow orders from the communist regime and the data it publishes is influenced by Party politics.
“It has several methods to suppress CPI and then explain to the public how the CPI is correct,” Cheng said. “People suspect the data is wrong, but the problem is that the Bureau never publishes how the statistics are calculated, the type of products it sampled,” etc.
If the methodology and other factors used to calculate CPI were made public, people would see how the data was manipulated, Cheng said; which is why such information is kept secret.
Read the original Chinese article.