Gao died from cancer on July 7 after drawing scrutiny for publicly challenging the accuracy of China’s official GDP figures in late 2024.
Former SDIC Securities chief economist Gao Shanwen has died from cancer at the age of 55, according to state media. Gao, who was born in 1971 in Linfen, Shanxi, had worked at the People’s Bank of China, Everbright Securities and Anxin Securities, later renamed SDIC Securities, after graduating from Peking University and the PBC Graduate School. His death comes after he became a prominent critic of China’s official GDP data in late 2024, when he said the country’s reported growth figures were overstated. Those remarks triggered an official investigation and disciplinary measures, and he later left SDIC Securities in November 2025. Gao’s passing has renewed attention on long-running debates over the credibility of China’s economic statistics as China targets 5% GDP growth for 2026.