The State Council has issued a circular on a decision to launch the fourth national economic census in 2018.

The census will cover all businesses involved in the secondary and tertiary industries, in fields such as mining, manufacturing, electricity, building, wholesale and retail, transportation, financing and real estate.

Information pertaining to the basic situation, organization structure, staff expenses, production capacity, financial status, and service activities of the business entities will be collected during the yearlong census.

According to the circular, the State Council will set up a leading group to solve major problems and make decisions. Members of the group will come from government departments such as the General Office of the State Council, the National Bureau of Statistics and the National Development and Reform Commission.

Local governments are also required to establish leading groups for the census, the circular stated.

Financed by all levels of government, the census should observe the Statistics Law, regulations on the implementation of the Statistical Law, and regulations on economic census, and stick to the policy of confidentiality.

In addition, any irregularities in the census, including falsification of data and interfering in the census process, will be punished.

The government also stressed wide application of e-signatures and online submissions, and encouraged new ways to collect information via smartphones, the circular stated.