Experts agree 2022 will see stable growth

BEIJING: China will be able to achieve around 5.5 per cent GDP growth this year, and it has room for making macroeconomic policy adjustments to support the economy, experts said on Friday.

Zhu Guangyao, former vice-minister of finance, told a news briefing in Beijing that the economy’s potential growth rate will likely be between 5 per cent and 6 per cent.

He said more efforts should be made to expand the economy to its full potential and maintain healthy and sustainable growth this year.

Citing the World Bank and International Monetary Fund forecasts for this year, Zhu said the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, will provide the main driving force to support global growth.

The World Bank forecast that global growth will likely decelerate markedly to 4.1 per cent this year from an estimated rebound to 5.5 per cent in 2021.

The World Bank expects China’s GDP growth rate to reach 5.1 per cent this year, closer to its potential sustainable growth rate of output at full capacity.

Zhu spoke highly of the Chinese GDP’s substantial 8.1 per cent growth in 2021, which brought the two-year (2020 and 2021) average annual economic growth to 5.1 per cent. China will maintain sustainable growth this year, he said.

Li Yang, chairman of the National Institution for Finance and Development, said China has room for increasing fiscal or monetary support for the economy.

According to him, China’s monetary policy still has certain room for maneuver compared with some advanced economies, and it also has room for ramping up fiscal policy support for the economy.

Citing the recent interest rate cuts, he said China has the capabilities and willingness to increase policy support for the economy this year.

Courtesy: China Daily