Nation turns to big data to gauge inflation

Through teaming up with high-tech companies, China's National Bureau of Statistics will start using big data technology to improve the collecting, processing and producing of the country's consumer price index, a key gauge of inflation.

Xian Zude, chief statistician with the NBS, said in an interview with xinhuanet.com on Wednesday that his bureau will use big data to achieve a "breakthrough" in the census of the CPI.

He added that the bureau will include data from Chinese e-commerce companies in official statistics in an effort to bring the CPI census to the next level and ease the time-consuming tasks of those doing the censuses and surveys.