Brief Introduction

Statistics on national accounts include mainly three parts, namely, gross domestic product, flow of funds table and balance of payments table.

I. Gross Domestic Product

Data on GDP are computed by the Department of National Accounts of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) based on different approaches in the light of the different features of various sectors, various expenditure structures and different data sources. Gross National Income (GNI) can be calculated on the basis of GDP on top of which is added the net factor income from the rest of the world.

Data on GDP and related indicators of the most recent year published in the Yearbook are not final and are subject to changes when more information from financial data and administrative records become available. Where a census has been conducted, historical data of GDP of the previous years may also undergo change. The 3rd National Economic Census was conducted in 2013. According to GDP Accounting Methodology for China’s 3rd National Economic Census Year, GDP was accounted again in Economic Census Year. And historical data (1952-2012) of GDP were revised by trend deviation method. Data in the yearbook are revised data.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measurement of value which changes depending on changes of price and production. GDP at constant prices converts the gross domestic product based on the current price into a value based on the price of the base period. When adjusted for price changes, the values of two different periods can be compared to reflect changes of both products and production activities. GDP index is derived from the constant-price GDPs of the two periods. As economy grows, changes will take place in the price structures of various industries, and the base period for the measurement of constant-price GDP thus needs to be adjusted every few years in order to better reflect the impact of price change on the economy. Since China started GDP calculation, eight constant-price base periods have been used, i.e., 1952, 1957, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000， 2005, and 2010 and the current base period is 2010. That is to say, the 2011 GDP is calculated on the basis of the 2010 prices. As the calculation of constant-price GDP is based on different base periods, the constant-price GDP data in this yearbook shall also be announced in accordance with various periods.

Regional data in this Yearbook are prepared from the national accounts data provided by the statistical bureaus of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. The sum of the regional data is not equal to the national total due to the decentralized accounting approach.

II. Flow of Funds Table

Similar to internationally accepted format, the Flow of Funds table of China constitutes a matrix of institutional sectors by transaction items. Items of transactions are expressed as row headings representing forms of distribution and methods of financing. Institutional sectors are shown as column headings, grouped by the characteristics of the transactors. There are 5 groups of institutional sectors in the flow of funds table, namely, non-financial corporations, financial institutions, general governments, households, and the rest of the world. Under each sector there are 2 headings: sources of funds and uses of funds. The current flow of funds table is composed of two parts: the first part, comprising the physical (real) transactions, is compiled by the Department of National Accounts of the National Bureau of Statistics; and the second part, comprising financial transactions, is compiled by the Research and Statistics Department of the People’s Bank of China.

III. Balance of Payments Table

The Balance of Payments Table is compiled by the Balance of Payments Department of the State Administration of Foreign Exchanges in accordance with the 5th edition of the Manual on Balance of Payments prepared by the International Monetary Fund.