IMF revises up China growth forecast for 2023, 2024

ANKARA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday revised up China's economic growth projections both for 2023 and 2024.

The Chinese economy is expected to grow 5.4% this year thanks to a strong post-virus rebound, an upward revision of 0.4 percentage points from its previous projection in October, the fund said in a statement.

The gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated to increase by 4.6% in 2024 revised upwards from 4.2%.

The slowdown expected in the growth next year is due to "continuing weakness in the property market and subdued external demand," the fund noted.

The revisions came after an IMF team completed its visit to China from Oct. 26 to Nov. 7.

The new projections were led by a stronger-than-expected third-quarter outturn and recent policy announcements, it added.

The IMF projected China's core inflation to increase to 2.1% by end-2024 as the output gap continues to narrow.

According to the latest data from the statistical office, China's annual core inflation rate, excluding food and energy prices, came in at 0.8% in September.

"Over the medium term, growth is projected to gradually decline to about 3.5% by 2028 amid headwinds from weak productivity and population aging," IMF's First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said.