IMF lifts China growth forecast

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised China's economic growth forecast for this year and next, citing a stronger-than-expected Q3 outturn and recent policy announcements.
Gross domestic production is projected to grow by 5.4% this year and growth is forecast to slow to 4.6% next year amid "the continued weakness in the property sector and subdued external demand," the IMF said in a report on conclusion of the Article IV Consultation mission visit on Tuesday.
"These projections reflect upward revisions of 0.4 percentage points in both 2023 and 2024 relative to October [World Economic Outlook] WEO projections due to a stronger-than-expected Q3 outturn and recent policy announcements," IMF first deputy managing director Gita Gopinath said.
In the October WEO report, the IMF had projected China's growth at 5% and 4.2% this year and next, citing the lower investment in the country amid the property sector crisis.
"The Chinese economy is on track to meet the government's 2023 growth target, reflecting a strong post-Covid recovery," the IMF said.
Core inflation is forecast to climb to 2.1% by end-2024 as output gap continues to narrow.
"Over the medium term, growth is projected to gradually decline to about 3.5% by 2028 amid headwinds from weak productivity and population ageing," Gopinath said.