BEIJING: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called for tighter global policy coordination to stabilize the global economy and stave off recession during a meeting with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Cambodia on Saturday.
Li and the two met in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on the sidelines of the East Asia Cooperation Dialogue along with the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
"Countries should strengthen cooperation and macroeconomic policy coordination to build synergies to maintain the stability of the world economy and prevent recession," Li said.
According to the official Xinhua news agency, Li told Georgieva that because of the deep integration of the world's finance and commerce, no country can escape the many difficulties it faces.
Additionally, it helps maintain world peace and stability, Lee said. According to the IMF, global growth is expected to decline from 6% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2023.
With the exception of the global financial crisis and the acute phase of the coronavirus pandemic, the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook report last month that it had the "weakest growth profile" since 2001.
The report warned that the worst is yet to come and for many, 2023 will "feel like a recession" as the three largest economies, the United States, China and the euro area, remain stagnant.
Li told Georgieva that China was quick to implement a policy package and follow-up measures to stabilize the economy after key economic indicators began to decline earlier this year. The economy is currently showing a steady upward trend, and the actions were able to "reverse the downward trend over time", he said.
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Li made his comments as concerns about the wider implications of China's strict zero-Covid policy, which calls for weeks or months of lockdown, mass screening, strict border controls and quarantines.
While China has loosened some coronavirus containment measures, such as easing the quarantine period for visitors from abroad, it has not provided a timeline for a zero-Covid exit strategy. Most analysts predict China will fall short of its economic growth target of "about 5.5 percent" this year.
According to the IMF's regional economic report published last month, a "sharp and uncharacteristic slowdown in China" was a major risk facing Asia-Pacific due to their close trade and financial ties.
According to the IMF's October report, the future of the world economy "severely depends on the successful calibration of monetary policy, the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine, and the potential for additional supply-side disruptions related to the pandemic, such as that of China."
The impact of the zero-Covid lockdown on mobility and the real estate market crisis is reflected in the IMF's forecast of a growth rate of 3.2% for China in 2022, the second lowest level since 1977.
To keep key economic indicators within an appropriate range and strive for better results throughout the year, Li said, "China will continue to promote the full implementation of policy package measures to stabilize the economy."
He said China would continue to participate in the G20 debt service suspension initiative, which was launched in late 2020 to assist 73 poor countries at risk of default due to the pandemic.
China is one of the creditors accused of obstructing the G20's debt relief initiative for low-income countries.
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Li expressed the hope that the IMF will continue to be actively involved in enhancing the international mechanism for the coordination of sovereign debt to assist countries in addressing the challenging issues facing the global economy.