On the morning of March 1st, Premier Li Keqiang had a phone call with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Georgieva at the Ziguangge in Zhongnanhai as scheduled.
Li Keqiang stated that in the face of the current complex international and regional situation, China's continued friendly cooperation with the IMF is not only beneficial for both sides, but also for the international community to jointly address the challenges faced. China is the world's largest developing country and an active promoter of South South cooperation, always committed to narrowing the North South gap. Solving the debt problems of low-income countries requires the joint participation of all creditors. China is willing to constructively participate in resolving the debt issues of relevant countries within a multilateral framework, while advocating for joint action and fair burden sharing to help low-income countries overcome economic difficulties and achieve sustainable development.
Li Keqiang pointed out that the Chinese economy was severely impacted by unexpected factors such as the epidemic last year. We responded promptly and decisively, implemented established policy measures, launched a package of policies and follow-up measures to stabilize the economy, and stabilized the macroeconomic situation. Over 12 million new urban jobs were created throughout the year. Against the backdrop of high global inflation, while maintaining stable growth and preventing inflation, the increase in consumer prices for residents is only 2%. In the three years since the outbreak of the epidemic, we have adhered to innovative macroeconomic regulation, focused on stimulating market vitality and social creativity through tax cuts and fee reductions, and achieved an average annual economic growth rate of 4.5%, higher than the world average. The current economic growth in China is stabilizing and rebounding, and there is broad space for future development.
Georgieva stated that the Chinese economy has performed outstandingly recently, making positive contributions to the development of the world economy and will continue to be the main driving force for global economic growth. The IMF has significantly raised its expectations for China's economic growth. Thank you for the positive and constructive attitude and efforts made by China to support developing countries in coping with the debt crisis. We are willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China on this matter.
