Asia's growth prospects remain solid

What is the role for policies in all this? Recent actions by Asian policymakers have boosted confidence and improved resilience in several economies, including India, Indonesia and Malaysia. But addressing medium-term risks calls for a renewed push for structural reforms to overcome the deterioration in the longer-term growth outlook that we have seen across the region in the past few years. Such reforms would not only strengthen Asian growth and make it more inclusive and sustainable, but also lower its vulnerability to disappointing growth or financial market shocks from the West.

For China, steadfast implementation of the reform blueprint should help the economy's transition toward a more sustainable path. Financial sector reforms through deposit rate liberalization and introduction of deposit insurance will help safeguard financial stability and improve the allocation of credit. State-owned enterprise reforms that aim to "level the playing field" and generally allow markets rather than the State to allocate resources would be a key complement to financial sector reforms. Improving fiscal management, especially of local government finances, will help contain risks and better allocate resources, while tax and social security reforms have the potential to boost consumption and address inequality.

Finding the right balance－reducing risks, rebalancing away from unsustainable credit and investment growth, and maintaining adequate growth and employment－will be an ongoing challenge. Containing vulnerabilities and moving the economy to a higher quality, sustainable growth path should be a priority, and broad-based stimulus should be deployed only if growth threatens to slow significantly below the government's target.

If such stimulus is deemed necessary, it should be implemented in a way that supports the reform effort, such as through on-budget measures to boost consumption rather than a new wave of credit-financed investment, which would put at risk the important gains already made in restructuring and rebalancing the economy.

The authors are economists at the IMF Resident Representative Office in China.

Time for government to continue cracking whip for sustained progress	China embraced commodity economy in 1984