Beijing Says It Suspended Guangdong Economic Indicator Over Paperwork

China’s national statistics bureau ordered a department of the Guangdong government to suspend surveying manufacturers for a closely watched regional economic indicator because the province let its approval lapse.

The suspension of the southern province’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) took place in October (link in Chinese) after several weak readings of the indicator added to concerns that China’s exports were flagging amid the trade war with the U.S. Until October, Guangdong’s Department of Industry and Information Technology had released the survey every month for seven straight years.