LIMA: 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 ahead of its annual meetings here.

China’s adoption of the IMF standard follows many investors questioning 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.

China’s central bank said in a separate statement issued on its website that adopting SDDS would help uncover the real situation in the economy and provide ‘a timely and accurate basis’ for policymaking.