China has made great strides in reshaping its own economy based on technology, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has said.
Georgieva stated this on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference holding in Washington D.C..
The IMF chief, who highlighted three major global changes, including digital transformation, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, said because of the development, other emerging markets were getting a push from the same digital engines.
“Among the economies that has the largest information and communication technology sector by share of gross domestic product (GDP), 13 of the top 30 are in the emerging world.
“To further seize this opportunity, governments should scale-up smart public investments, especially in the digital skills and infrastructure, to build a 21st century workforce,’’ Georgieva said.
Another major global change, the IMF chief said, was the shift from deep recession to recovery.
“The IMF’s most recent forecast puts global growth at six per cent this year and 4.4 per cent in 2022, thanks to the extraordinary interventions by governments, spurred by the prospect of expanding vaccinations.
“However, we must not take the recovery for granted as there is a dangerous divergence in economic fortunes across and within countries,” she said.
According to her, vulnerable households and viable firms will need continued support so long as the crisis persists.
“As recovery takes hold, governments can gradually scale back support programmes, but scale up targeted hiring subsidies and retraining and reskilling,’’ she added.
The third major change was the pivot to low-carbon and resilient growth in response to climate change, said the IMF chief, who welcomed China’s commitment to reach net-zero by 2060.
According to IMF analysis, a coordinated green infrastructure push, combined with carbon pricing could boost global GDP in the next 15 years by 0.7 per cent per year, and create millions of jobs.
“In a world of change, one thing remains constant – the importance of solidarity between countries.
“This has been a key feature of the crisis, not just the exceptional fiscal and monetary measures, but also initiatives such as the Common Framework for orderly debt resolution, agreed by the Group of 20.
“And the possible new Special Drawing Rights allocation of 650 billion U.S. dollars from the IMF.
“By further strengthening this kind of global cooperation, we can turn a world of change into a world of opportunity for all,” Georgieva concluded. (Xinhua/NAN)
