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Interview: Slowing down of Chinese economy manageable, moving forward with structural reforms key: OECD chief

Xinhua, March 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Angel Gurria told Xinhua in a recent interview that the slowing down of the Chinese economy was manageable but moving forward with structural reforms was important.

Gurria said the decelerating Chinese economy was a "natural result" of two things: domestically, the transition from the growth model of export and investment to consumption-led growth, and from quantity to quality; and internationally, the global economy is at one of the lowest paces in the last 50 years.

"I believe Chinese authorities have it under control," Gurria said, adding that in a longer-term view, the economic transition of China would reach sustainable growth, because "quality is better than speed."

Gurria's opinion is supported by OECD's research. In the OECD's interim economic outlook report released in February, Chinese growth perspectives for 2016 and 2107 were all kept at 6.5 percent. OECD chief economist Catherine Mann said this indicated that OECD was positive about the stability of the Chinese economy.

The leading indicator released by OECD in early March also indicated that growth in China was steady, described by the Wall Street Journal as an "encouraging development" while the majority of other important economies were slowing down.

Gurria said in the next few years, urbanization and the reform of Hukou (residence permit) would provide support for Chinese economic growth, while the progress of innovation, education, and the deepening of reforms would also provide new drivers for economic growth.

There are, however, challenges for the Chinese economy, Gurria said, but these challenges are not impossible to resolve as China's structural reform has a good base with educational improvements, the financial system having good infrastructure, banks remaining stable, and innovation encouraged more and more.

For China, "the point is moving forward, looking at how you can actually do things better," Gurria said.

The head of the OECD said that when it came to issues of global growth, all countries should work together, because "we could not expect China to carry the global economic growth alone; China cannot do it alone." Endit