As an integral part of national economic statistics, China's customs statistics are the
country wise import export statistics, an important basis for the country to formulate foreign economic and trade policies and conduct macroeconomic regulation and control, and an important material for studying China's foreign economic and trade development and international economic and trade relations.
In 1981, the State Council decided to make customs statistics as the official statistics of China, and the state used customs statistics to publish statistics on foreign trade. The customs law of the People's Republic of China, promulgated and implemented in 1987, clearly stipulates that compiling customs statistics is one of the four major tasks of the customs.
According to the requirement ”accurate and timely, scientific and complete, internationally comparable, supervision and service”, for the goods in and out of China customs frontier statistical survey and statistical analysis, scientific, accurately reflect the running situation of the foreign trade, provide statistical information and consulting services, effective statistical supervision, carry out
international trade statistics of exchanges and cooperation, promote the development of foreign economic relations and trade.
II. Characteristics of national import and export statistics
Since 1980,
China customs statistics have adopted international standards in an all-round way. Their statistical methods and calibers are in line with the trade statistics methods commonly used in other countries, and their data are comprehensive, reliable and internationally comparable.
III. The state organization of import and export statistics
The general administration of customs of China has established a general statistics department to take unified leadership in customs statistics throughout the country. Local customs shall set up statistical institutions according to the needs of statistical tasks. At present, 36 of the 41 customs directly under the central government have set up general statistics offices and 5 have set up statistics departments. There are more than 700 full-time customs statisticians nationwide.
