IMF hails focus on growth quality
The International Monetary Fund has welcomed China putting greater focus on the quality rather than the quantity of growth and being committed to greener development with a specific carbon neutrality goal, an IMF spokesman said as the country’s annual legislative session concluded.
The Government Work Report, approved at the conclusion of the weeklong National People’s Congress meeting on March 11, said China aims for gross domestic product growth of more than 6% this year, with more efforts on reform, innovation and highquality development.
Premier Li Keqiang told reporters that such a growth target is “not low” considering the size of the Chinese economy. Walking quickly for a moment does not mean one is walking steadily, he said, and that “it is only with a steady pace that we will be firm in our steps”.
Gerry Rice, director of the IMF’s Communications Department, said: “We do welcome this greater focus on the quality rather than the quantity of growth.
“We think this should help reinforce China’s quest to rebalance this growth model toward greener and more consumption-oriented growth.”
Rice, who has served as the department’s chief since 2011, said the IMF has projected the world’s second-largest economy to grow at 8.1% this year, after growing 2.3% last year.
This suggests that growth above 6% should be easily reached, Rice said.
“But again, the absence of a specific range for a growth target in 2021 is welcome and should reinforce this focus on high-quality growth and rebalancing, which is a discussion we’ve been engaged in with the Chinese authorities quite constructively for the last several years.”
Rice said he had noticed that during the annual sessions of the national legislature and the top political advisory body, China had made a continued commitment to medium-term reform to strengthen highquality, more consumptiondriven growth, and confirmed its efforts in tackling climate change and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060.
Also, China’s new five-year plan reaffirms the country’s 2060 carbon neutrality goal, and the focus will turn to implementation of that goal, Rice said.
In this context, investment in non-fossil fuels combined with continued curbing of carbon emissions and energy intensity represent important steps toward slowing global warming, he said.
“It will be important to set China’s carbon emissions on that downward trajectory that is commensurate with the scale of the global climate challenge,” Rice said, adding that all countries, including China, need to set their carbon emissions on downward paths consistent with global climate targets.