As the pandemic is on the rise in China, with 30,000 cases per day, the IMF has urged the country to sharply increase the pace of vaccinations against Covid-19.
According to the Deputy Director General of IMF“ the combination of more contagious variants of Covid-19 and persistent gaps in vaccinations has led to the need for more frequent lockdowns, weighing on the rate of consumption and private investment, including in housing “said Gita Gopinath.
It is therefore necessary to increase the pace of vaccinations, believes the deputy managing director of the IMF, but also to maintain an accommodating budgetary policy to revive consumption and real estate, which are under pressure in the country. And this, in particular by facilitating access to loans for construction companies and for home buyers.
The IMF, however, believes that China’s economic risks are tempered by the global slowdown, rising energy prices and tighter global financial policies. The Fund also maintains its Chinese GDP growth forecast published last month. Or 3.2% in 2022 and 4.4% in 2023. And it anticipates the gradual cessation of the policy “zero Covid” in the second half of 2023.
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