IMF raises China’s GDP growth forecast in 2024 to 5%, influenced by decisive political actions of the government

IMF Photo: VCG

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday raised China’s GDP growth forecast for 2024 to 5 percent, up 0.4 percentage points from the World Economic Outlook (WEO) report released in April, pointing to rising expectations for a solid recovery. in the world’s second largest economy.

Strong first-quarter GDP data and recent policy actions by the Chinese government contributed to the revision, the IMF said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Wednesday.

An IMF team visited China from May 16 to 28 and held policy discussions with Chinese officials, the IMF said.

“China’s economic growth is expected to remain stable at 5% in 2024 and slow to 4.5% in 2025.” They reflect an upward revision of 0.4 percentage points for both years compared to the April WEO projections, driven by strong Q1 GDP data and recent policy measures,” IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said in a statement.

In its statement, the IMF highlighted the Chinese authorities’ efforts to achieve high-quality growth by supporting innovation, particularly in green high-tech sectors, modernizing financial sector regulation and introducing risk-mitigating policies for the real estate sector and local governments.

Authorities have implemented “a variety of welcome measures to guide the housing transformation, including recent policy announcements on credit support for affordable housing,” the IMF said.

The IMF said that the easing of monetary policy implemented so far in 2024 is welcome and there is room for further easing.

China’s GDP growth in the first quarter of this year exceeded market expectations at 5.3 percent year-on-year, kicking off a strong start to the year and laying a strong foundation for achieving annual development goals.