Global Times:
The latest World Economic Outlook released by the IMF forecasts that China's GDP will grow by 8%in 2021, which is 0.1 percent lower than the previous forecast. What is your response to this? Thank you.
Fu Linghui:
Thank you for your question. It should be said that due to multiple factors such as repeated waves of the pandemic worldwide, rising commodity prices, tight international shipping, labor shortages and shortages of key parts and components, the pace of global economic recovery has slowed overall since the third quarter. At the same time, inflation levels in major economies have continued to rise. For example, in September, the CPI in the United States rose by 5.4% year-on-year, and the CPI in the Eurozone rose by 3.4%, both of which were relatively high in recent years. This has also increased the possibility of policy shifts in these economies and has restricted the recovery of the global economy to a certain extent. Under these conditions, the IMF recently estimated that the global economic growth rate in 2021 will be lowered to 5.9% from what was previously expected to be 6%. Among them, the economic growth rate of developed countries has been lowered to 5.2% from the original forecast of 5.6%, reflecting concerns about changes in the global economy.
Against this backdrop, since China is a country deeply embedded in the globalization process, I think it is normal for the IMF to make some expected adjustments. However, it should be pointed out that China is the only country among the major global economies that achieved positive growth despite the impact of the pandemic in 2020. Compared with other countries, the base number is relatively high. Major international organizations expect that China's economy will still maintain a relatively high growth rate at about 8% in 2021. This rate is not only higher than the global average growth rate, but also higher than the growth rate of major economies, reflecting the international community's optimism regarding the outlook for China's economic growth, and also indicates that China's economy is resilient and has huge potential. Thank you.
Shou Xiaoli:
Last two questions.
