The People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, announced Monday that the Governor of PBOC Dai Xianglong will inform the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Horst Koehler on January 1, 2002 of China's decision to join the IMF's General Data Dissemination System (GDDS).

A spokesman for the PBOC said that this is an important move the government has made to increase the transparency of the macro economy, a step which will move China's statistical system closer to international standards.

The spokesman also said that the GDDS includes the data of five major departments, and is programmed to maximize the scope, frequency, rapid retrieval, quality, integrity and accessibility of the data.

He said that after more than 20 years' practice in reforms and opening to the outside world, China's economy has made strong progress and is integrating further with the global economy.

With close attention from the Chinese government and technical support from the IMF, China's economic, financial and vital statistics are approaching international standards at a fast rate.

The statistical data from the five major departments of the Chinese government have been adapted to the requirements of the system, he added.

He said that China's pledge to join the system is of great significance for the improvement of its statistical system and the level of decision-making for macro economy.

(People's Daily December 31, 2001)