The meeting comes days after the leaders scrapped some of the world’s toughest anti-COVID measures, which had been promoted by Xi but sparked protests unprecedented in his 10-year rule.
China will strengthen the overall coordination of anti-epidemic policies, ensuring a smooth “transition” during the current health crisis and social order, state media reported on the conference.
“We must first insist on stability next year, as we strive to make progress amidst this stability,” the state media tally claimed.
A cut in China’s growth prospects for 2022 and 2023 is “very likely,” IMF Director General Kristalina Georvieva told AFP. She pointed out in an interview that the change in policy in the face of the covid will initially create “some difficulties” in the Asian giant.
“It is very likely that we will lower our growth forecasts for China, both for 2022 and 2023. The restrictions linked to the covid put a brake on growth but the easing (decided by Beijing) will create some difficulties in the coming months,” he said.
In publishing its annual report, the IMF estimated Chinese growth for 2022 at 3.2% and 4.4% for 2023.
The IMF has warned several times about the economic consequences of China’s covid-zero policy. But the end of this strategy will necessarily lead to “an increase in the number of infections with consequences for the good performance of the economy,” Georgieva said.
China should reorient “the health system towards treatment rather than isolation,” Georgieva insisted.
The director of the Fund maintained that in the second half of 2023 China “should have an improvement in growth.”
With information from AFP, EFE and Reuters