IMF and China sign MoU on AI and digital economy measurement
The new initiative will support global efforts to improve transparency and comparability in official economic statistics.
The International Monetary Fund and China’s National Bureau of Statistics have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation on national accounts, macroeconomic statistics and statistical modernisation.
The agreement builds on a previous MoU signed in November 2023 and creates a framework for cooperation on implementing the 2025 System of National Accounts.
The cooperation will include work on measuring the digital economy, AI, cloud computing, digital intermediation platforms and data as an asset. It will also cover broader areas introduced in updated international statistical standards, including globalisation, economic well-being and environmental sustainability.
The IMF and NBS also agreed to deepen technical collaboration on the consistency and integration of macroeconomic statistics, including through the use of innovative data sources and analytical approaches.
The agreement includes cooperation between the IMF Big Data Centre and the NBS Big Data Application Centre, which hosts the UN Global Hub on Big Data and Data Science for Official Statistics.
Activities under the MoU will include high-level visits, expert consultations, technical workshops, joint analytical work and exchanges on statistical practices and methodologies.
The new MoU will take effect in December 2026, upon the expiration of the current agreement, and will remain in force until December 2029.
Why does it matter?
Measuring the digital economy is becoming harder as AI systems, cloud services, platforms and data-driven business models become more central to economic activity. Cooperation between the IMF and China’s statistics authority could support more consistent approaches to measuring these sectors under the 2025 System of National Accounts. Better statistical methods matter because governments, investors and international organisations rely on comparable data to assess growth, productivity, sustainability and the economic impact of digital transformation.
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