China’s Missing Politburo Statements Fan Fears of Data Gaps
- Body skipped as many readouts in Xi’s third term as his second
- Omissions come as Beijing limits data access amid US tensions
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As investor concern grows over an information crackdown in China, another key data source has become mysteriously rarer: readouts from meetings of the nation’s 24 most-powerful men.
Since President Xi Jinping secured a precedent-defying third term in October, the Communist Party’s top decision-making body has skipped publishing a statement for three separate months. During the Chinese leader’s second term, it took the party nearly five years to miss the same number of statements.