China News Service, March 24. The China Development Forum 2024 Annual Meeting held its first seminar on the morning of March 24, "The Momentum and Prospects of China's Sustainable Development." International Monetary Fund (IMF) President Kristalina Georgieva said in her speech that in the medium term, China will continue to be a key contributor to global economic growth.
"This year is the Year of the Dragon of great significance to the world economy and China," Georgieva said. Turning to the world economy, she said this will also be a challenging year for fiscal authorities in most countries, with countries needing to consolidate to reduce debt and rebuild buffers while funding the digital and green transformation of their economies. . Fortunately, the global economy has shown remarkable resilience in the face of the shocks of the past few years, thanks to strong macroeconomic fundamentals and consumer and government spending in most advanced and emerging market economies.
But looking to the medium term, Georgieva admitted frankly that the global economy is expected to grow at around 3%, which will be a historically low growth rate. Slow productivity growth and high debt levels pose challenges for everyone, and geopolitical tensions will affect trade and capital flows. However, digitalization and green transformation also offer opportunities to boost productivity growth and improve living standards.
"Focusing on China, we see a new era of high-quality growth. China's economy will rebound strongly after the epidemic in 2023, growing by more than 5%. In the medium term, China will continue to be a key contributor to global economic growth." Georgi Yeva said that according to the IMF's analysis, through certain positive reform measures, China's growth rate may be much faster than the current situation, which starts with good macroeconomic fundamentals. She noted that China's impressive economic growth over the past few decades has significantly improved living standards and provided ample policy buffers to address the most pressing recent challenges. Addressing challenges such as the real estate industry and local government debt issues is critical to China's smooth transition to a new era of high-quality growth.
Georgieva said a key feature of high-quality growth is greater reliance on domestic consumption. Doing so depends on increasing the spending power of individuals and households. China's social security system covers more people than any other country in the world, but there is room to further expand its reach and increase benefits. Domestic consumption also depends on income growth, which in turn depends on the productivity of capital and labor. Reforms such as improving the business environment and ensuring a level playing field can help improve capital allocation. Investments in human capital and quality health care will also lead to higher labor productivity and higher incomes.
Georgieva pointed out that China is at the forefront of emerging economies in terms of artificial intelligence preparation, and its developed digital infrastructure provides opportunities. Establishing a sound regulatory framework for AI and strengthening economic ties with other innovative countries will help China’s development.
"China also has great potential in promoting the green economy. China has become a global leader in deploying renewable energy and has made rapid progress in green travel." Georgieva said that China's continued leadership is crucial to solving The global climate crisis is crucial.