IMF Says China Subscribes to Data Standard to Boost Economic Statistics

China on Wednesday subscribed to the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), marking a major step forward for official statistics in the country, the IMF said.

The move came as many investors have questioned the reliability of China's data as the country's economic growth has slowed. A surprise August devaluation of the yuan currency sent shockwaves through global markets.

"Participation in the SDDS is expected to enhance a country's availability of timely and comprehensive statistics and contribute to the pursuit of sound macroeconomic policies," the IMF said in a statement.

The IMF forecasts that China's economy will grow by 6.8 percent this year and 6.3 percent in 2016.

(Reporting by Krista Hughes and David Chance; Editing by Lisa Lambert and Meredith Mazzilli)