MNI POLICY: China 2020 GDP Growth May Be 3%: Fmr FX Official

By Archie Zhang

     BEIJING (MNI) - China's economy may grow 3% this year if the global

pandemic is under control through the second half of the year, Wei Benhua, a

former deputy administrator of China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange

(SAFE), said in an online forum held jointly Wednesday by the International

Monetary Institute at Renmin University and the International Monetary Fund.

     Here are other major points from the event:

     - China has more room for monetary and fiscal policies to help stimulate

the economy, including further cutting banks' reserve requirement ratios and

lowering rates to inject more liquidity, Wei said.

     - Steven Barnett, head of the IMF's China legation, noted that China will

not launch fiscal stimulus to the same extent as the 8% of GDP it pushed in

2009, catapulting final growth to 9.6%.

     - The stable Yuan, underpinned by positive economic growth, will alleviate

pressures of capital outflow, said Zhang Zhixiang, an IMI director and a former

official at the PBOC. Both Zhang and Wei rejected the notion of large outflows

this year. 

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 8532 5998; email: william.bi@mni-news.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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