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1st LD-Writethru: IMF chief urges worldwide structural reforms

Xinhua, February 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde has urged other countries to implement structural reforms along with China to strengthen their and the world's economies.

"China is not the only economy in need of structural reforms. In fact, structural reforms are fundamental for the success of every G20 economy," Lagarde said Friday, in a statement posted on the IMF website ahead of a G20 meeting being held in Shanghai on Friday and Saturday.

"This was clearly recognized in the G20's 2009 framework for strong, stable, and balanced growth," she said, referring to an agreement signed at the G20's Pittsburgh Summit in September 2009. "And it was given specificity in the over 800 commitments that G20 members made in their 2014 national growth strategies."

Lagarde said there is urgent need for G20 countries to accelerate structural reforms: "[They] have become even more pressing given the disappointing state of the global recovery. Activity weakened unexpectedly at the end of last year, which led us at the IMF to revise growth downward for this year and beyond.

"In this fragile environment, we need urgent action not only to boost economic potential, but also to boost confidence about the recovery and near-term growth." Endi