World Bank economist: China is moving forward in a very encouraging way

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‍The World Bank revised China's growth forecast to 6.8 percent this year, but expects China's GDP growth to decelerate to 6.4 percent in 2018 and 6.3 percent in 2019 because of continued deleveraging.

John Litwack, the World Bank's lead economist for China, told CGTN that “2017 is a very good year. We think the policies toward deleveraging, toward getting credit growth under control, seem to be very effective. And we are very hopeful that China will continue on that path in the future."

The report released on Tuesday said that China has created almost 11 million new jobs in the first three quarters, boosting household income and consumer spending. And higher demand for Chinese goods, policies aimed at adjusting imbalances and limiting financial risks also provided momentum.

Litwack noted that financial risk in China has been high in recent years, due to the explosion of credit growth rate. But the situation remains manageable, adding that there is no “imminent threat of financial instability in China."

The report also acknowledged China's deleveraging efforts, saying growth in credit to the non-financial sector moderated to 14.1 percent in 2017, from last year's 15.9 percent.

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The economist also expressed concerns about the impact that the credit growth rate may bring to economic growth, as well as the efficiency of capital allocation. But he remained positive on China’s economy next year, not only on stable economic growth but also effective economic reform.

“We see China is moving forward in very encouraging way. We think it’s a huge opportunity. The overall economic situation now in China is so favorable. We think a lot can be achieved without jeopardizing China’s rapid path of economic growth,” Litwack said.

(CGTN’s Wang Yue also contributed to the story)