Lagarde backs China's 13th Five-Year Plan
Xinhua, March 20, 2016 Adjust font size:
The 13th Five-Year Plan will help China achieve more inclusive and sustainable growth, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said at the China Development Forum in Beijing on Sunday.
At the opening of the two-day event, Lagarde said China was going through "a historic transition" that is "good for China and good for the world."
The country needs to strike a delicate balance between shifting to a relatively slower but more sustainable pace of growth, and advancing much-needed structural reforms, according to the IMF chief.
She summarized the policy imperatives of the 13th Five-Year Plan, released this week, as ONE -- open, narrow and expand.
China has promised to pursue more market-driven growth and deepen its integration with the global economy.
"The inclusion of the renminbi in the SDR basket is a clear demonstration of China's continued commitment to further integration," said Lagarde.
She believes the country's attempts to narrow social gaps, including through greater emphasis on green development, "will ensure that prosperity is durable and widely shared."
And Lagarde is hopeful about the government encouraging industrial modernization and entrepreneurship. "This will generate new drivers of growth," she said. Endi