China is to centralize how regional gross domestic product (GDP) is calculated starting from early 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Wednesday.

Since the establishment of China's accounting system in 1985, its national and regional GDP data have not been calculated by the same official body. The NBS assesses national GDP while local statistics offices evaluate GDP at a regional level.

The NBS is to lead the unified calculation of regional GDP after the reform. It will coordinate local statistics offices in standardizing and conducting accounting procedures and then release the results.

The reform is an inevitable requirement for improving the quality of statistical data and the credibility of government statistics, said Ning Jizhe, head of the NBS.

The reform will provide more solid data to support macroeconomic decision making, Ning added.

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