China Should Explain ‘Enormous’ Data Gaps, US Ex-Official Says
- Discrepancies may obscure true size of China’s trade surplus
- US called for explanation as China boosts exports for growth
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China should explain widening discrepancies in its balance of payments data that are obscuring growing global imbalances, a top US economist said.
The country’s surplus in goods trade shown in the BoP data — compiled by its State Administration of Foreign Exchange — has significantly undershot the one reported by the customs since 2022, according to Brad Setser, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former US trade and Treasury official.