WB and IMF remain confident on China's economic growth

A stevedore works at Qingdao port in Shandong province, July 1, 2015. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING - China can achieve at least 6.5 percent GDP growth in the next five years if everything goes as planned, said Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Managing Director of the World Bank, on Sunday.

She said there will not be a sudden loss in the growth speed for the world's second-largest economy at the two-day China Development Forum 2016 that opened in Beijing and added that the most important thing is where the growth comes from, rather than the speed.

At the same forum, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde also showed her confidence in China's economy. She said the 13th Five-Year Plan will help China achieve more inclusive and sustainable growth.

Lagarde summarized the policy imperatives of the 13th Five-Year Plan, released this week, as ONE -- open, narrow and expand.

It's important for China to change its growth model: rely more on domestic sources of growth, said Indrawati, adding that the process, however, will not be immediate.

Likewise, Lagarde said China was going through "a historic transition" that is "good for China and good for the world."

"The government knows the new direction as was announced in the five-year plan," said Indrawati, adding that policymakers should forget "the muscle memory" -- the government's old way of managing the economy.

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.

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.