2016年CRI Structural Reform Key to Growth, Implementation Hard: IMF Official（在线收听）

Speaking at the week-long 2016 Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Zhu Min said, that policy makers and economists have come to a consensus that structural reform should be put at the top of the agenda. 

"Because monetary policy is over burdened now. And there is not much room for fiscal policy either. Fiscal debt ratio in advanced economies has risen from 70 per cent to over 100 per cent, and that figure is also on the rise in emerging economies and low-income countries. So that left the only option to take measures on the supply side."

But Zhu added noted that such structural reports would not be an easy path. He said that unlike stimulus plans that tended to benefit everybody, structural reforms would innevitably leave some victims. Therefore, Zhu said it was extremely important and urgent to build social safety nets for everyone, particularly for those who suffered. 

In the run-up to the Spring Meetings, the IMF cut its global economic outlook by 0.2 percent, citing the continued slowdown in growth and geo-political uncertainties. One bright spot is China where the IMF upgraded its forecast from 6.3 per cent in January to 6.5 per cent for this year. 

Zhu Min said the latest data supports the need for change. 

"At a time when the global economy continues to go down and recovery remains slow, a stable Chinese economy is extremely precious. Everybody uttered a sigh of relief. According to the data, PMI is going up while PPI is coming down. That means the overall demand has played an influential role. The manufacturing sector is coming back and the service sector and consumption continued to stay strong. All these factors have brought the economy back to a strong growth and had therefore restored market confidence and a stable currency exchange rate." 

Zhu Min also acknowledged the difficulties China is facing in undergoing structural reform. He also urged the government to communicate more effectively before rolling out policies due to the huge impact any changes would have on the global economy. 

As the president of this year's G20, China and other members have agreed to roll out monitoring objectives to fully implement the commitments made at the Brisbane Summit last year. The group has also agreed to increase infrastructure investment and transparency in financial institutions. Green finance has been highlighed as another important focus.

Meanwhile, China has also put forward proposals to widen the use of the SDR basket of currencies to inject more fuel to create global growth.

Xiaohong, CRI, Washington DC.