IMF Sees Chinese Economy Rebounding Soon If Virus Threats Ends Quickly - Managing Director

IMF Sees Chinese Economy Rebounding Soon If Virus Threats Ends Quickly - Managing Director

The International Monetary Fund sees an imminent rebound in the Chinese economy once the virus pandemic in the world's second-largest economy is brought under control, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva wrote in a blog post on Wednesday

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th February, 2020) The International Monetary Fund sees an imminent rebound in the Chinese economy once the virus pandemic in the world's second-largest economy is brought under control, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.

"If the disruptions from the virus end quickly, we expect the Chinese economy to bounce back soon," Georgieva wrote. "The result would be a sharp drop in GDP growth in China in the first quarter of 2020, but only a small reduction for the entire year."

At least 2,004 people in mainland China have died from the coronavirus, or COVID-19, which has now spread to 27 countries. More than 74,000 people remain infected in China as well.

Georgieva said if the virus brought under control in China, then "spillovers to other countries would remain relatively minor and short-lived, mostly through temporary supply chain disruptions, tourism, and travel restrictions."

But she added that the global economy "is far from solid ground."

"While some uncertainties have receded, new ones have emerged. The truth is that uncertainty is becoming the new normal," she wrote.

Georgieva said after a disappointing last year, global growth appeared more promising now, with the IMF projecting growth to strengthen from 2.9 percent in 2019 to 3.3 percent in 2020 and 3.4 percent in 2021.

Monetary and fiscal policy have also been doing their part, with monetary easing added approximately 0.5 percentage points to global growth last year as some 49 central banks cut rates 71 times in the most synchronized monetary action since the global financial crisis, she added.