International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva attends the “1+10 Dialogue” with leaders of the international economic organization along with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (not pictured) in Beijing on December 9, 2025.
Pedro Pardo | AFP | Getty Images
BEIJING – International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said China needs to “accelerate” support for domestic consumption and reduce reliance on exports for growth.
“China, the world’s second-largest economy, remains dependent on growth risks such as exports because it is too large to generate significant export growth.” [and] Global trade tensions are getting worse,” Georgieva told reporters on Wednesday.
He said the country needed to “accelerate” its decades-long plan to move away from dependence on exports for growth, adding that it was “good for China and good for the global economy.”
He said the change was made “to avoid provoking other countries to take measures to curb China’s exports.”
His comments came as trade tensions between China and the United States intensify and countries such as Europe and Mexico grow wary of large imports of cars and other goods from China. China’s trade surplus reached an annual record of more than $1 trillion as of November.
Since the pandemic, consumer spending has remained sluggish, partly due to the real estate recession putting pressure on household sentiment.
Georgieva said the IMF estimates that China will need to spend about 5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) over the next three years to “decisively” resolve problems in its real estate sector. He said this could be achieved through strict control of fiscal and industrial policies.
He added that policymakers should be more proactive in completing the construction of sold apartments and be more decisive in allowing “unviable” Chinese developers to exit.
“We call those companies zombie companies. Well, let’s make sure there are no zombies,” she said.
Georgieva also said that the IMF’s analysis found that increasing spending on social assistance, especially in rural areas, could boost consumption by up to 3 percentage points of GDP over the medium term.
He pointed to the need for concrete policy measures, particularly emphasizing the need for market forces to play a greater role for China’s technological development and the renminbi.
“What we want is a market-based renminbi exchange rate that reflects fundamentals,” he added.
The IMF said in a statement on Wednesday that China’s low inflation rate relative to its trading partners “has led to a depreciation of the real exchange rate, contributing to strong exports and a growing current account surplus.”
China’s GDP improvement
The IMF on Wednesday raised its forecast for China’s economic growth next year to 4.5%, citing domestic stimulus and lower-than-expected tariffs.
This was 0.3 percentage points higher than the IMF’s October forecast. The organization also raised its 2025 growth forecast by 0.2 points to 5%.
The IMF forecast that China’s inflation rate next year will average 0.8%, up from 0% this year.
China announced early Wednesday that its consumer price index rose 0.7% year-on-year in November, hitting the highest level in nearly two years.
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The IMF said Beijing needed “more urgent and stronger” stimulus to move to a more consumption-led growth model.
Chinese leaders announced in October that development goals for the next five years include increased efforts to increase consumption as well as technological self-sufficiency. Leaders are scheduled to hold their annual meeting later this week to discuss economic plans for next year.
IMF visit to China
IMF representatives spoke at the end of a 10-day visit to Beijing and Shanghai for the fund’s annual China Economic Review, known as Article IV Consultations.
Ms. Georgieva participated in discussions with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Vice Premier He Lifeng, People’s Bank of China Governor Ban Gongsheng, Finance Minister Lan France, and Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao.
Li met with Georgieva and the heads of nine other major international economic organizations in Beijing on Tuesday. The Chinese premier called for greater cooperation and said China would be able to achieve its economic goals this year, according to reports.
The visit was led by Sonali Jain Chandra, head of the Chinese delegation. IMF First Deputy Managing Director Dan Katz also participated in part of the mission and met with senior Chinese officials.
