BEIJING - China will revise its 2018 gross domestic product estimate in the next few days to reflect an increase in the number of businesses and assets recorded in the last census, officials said.
While the revisions typically have no immediate bearing on policy, some analysts see other implications for longer-term economic targets if past estimates are revised higher. The world’s second-largest economy grew to 90.03 trillion yuan in 2018, according to preliminary revisions this year. The 6.6% growth was the slowest in almost three decades but was in line with Beijing’s target of around 6.5%.
At a briefing on Wednesday, Li told reporters the planned 2018 GDP revision is not for the purpose of meeting a certain target, but to reflect changes in accounting rules and data sources.