IMF chief says China's GDP growth 'good news' for world

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese economic growth in 2023 is good news for China and beyond, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

"The Chinese economy met the national target, which was set at around 5 percent, and actually exceeded it. That is good news for China and also good news for Asia and the world because China delivers one-third of global growth," Kristalina Georgieva told Xinhua in Davos on the sidelines of the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

On Wednesday, China's National Bureau of Statistics announced that the country's national gross domestic product grew 5.2 percent year on year to a new high of 126.06 trillion yuan (about 17.71 trillion U.S. dollars) last year.

Tourists walk on the Bund as their reflections and those of nearby skyscrapers appear in the water, in Shanghai, east China, July 17, 2023. (Photo: CFP)

Georgieva noted that the Chinese government was concentrating on moving to high-quality growth and changing the growth model from one primarily oriented by export to a model where consumption plays a bigger role.

"We are very good partners with China," she said, adding that China has great potential to bring out more productivity and to create a more productive labor force.

According to her, "reforms, opening up and integration in the world economy" is the right road for China to continue.

The IMF in November last year upgraded its forecast for the Chinese economy for 2023 to 5.4 percent from 5.0 percent, and for 2024 to 4.6 percent from 4.2 percent, as compared with its World Economic Outlook released in October.