China's State Council has approved the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) decision to reform its survey teams in a bid to collect more reliable data, the head of the NBS said in a meeting Tuesday.

 

Li Deshui, director of the NBS, said that three survey teams under the direct control of the NBS would be strengthened and their position enhanced. Data collection teams at different levels, from NBS headquarters to county level, will be managed directly by the bureau, so as to increase their independence in surveying tasks.

 

China has made considerable progress in improving the transparency of data releases and has made efforts to keep in line with international practice. The NBS, which employs about 95,000 people, releases different categories of data on a monthly basis. In early December, it released results of the first national economic survey.

 

The NBS has a clear development goal, he said, which is to set up a statistical system that corresponds to both China's situation and to international practice, to improve data quality and provide better and more efficient services for both China and the international community, he said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2005)