Some companies distorted figures up to 56 times the actual numbers

Severe problems with fudging figures - in one instance the given figure was 56 times the real number - were found in a round of inspections on the implementation of the Statistics Law, according to China's top legislature.

Since 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics has verified and inspected 2,051 companies and 2,942 fixed-asset investment projects that had abnormal data, according to a report delivered at the bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee on Wednesday.

Data from 1,195 companies and 2,775 investment projects were found to be severely fabricated, according to the report.

Companies in the Port Economic Zone in Tianjin's Binhai New Area were the most serious offenders, with average falsely reported figures as high as 56 times the real figures.

Violators in Kailu county of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region inflated figures by an average multiple of 10, while companies in Xifeng county in Liaoning province jacked them up by an average 6.7 times.

Wang Dongming, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the 13th NPC, said some officials have little awareness of the rule of law, and present fraudulent statistics despite prohibitions.

"Some officials even use various methods to intervene in statistics departments and companies to affect the authenticity and accuracy of statistical data," he said.

"Some ordered companies to fill in reports in accordance with their designated data. Some replaced enterprises' reports with false data. And some even fabricated companies and investment projects," he said.

Wang said the country will intensify statistical supervision and seriously punish violations to ensure the accuracy of data.

The Statistical Law Enforcement Supervision Bureau was launched in April 2017 under the National Bureau of Statistics, and 16 provinces have established statistical law enforcement supervision organizations.

As of May, 57 companies had been exposed for serious statistical violations and will face punishments including being banned from government procurement, corporate financing and project review, the report said.

From 2017 to April this year, the bureau has investigated and dealt with 72 major cases involving 26 provinces and municipalities with 79 people receiving punishment, the report said.

The Statistics Law was enacted in 1983 and revised in 1996 and 2009.