BEIJING (AP) – The International Monetary Fund on Monday raised its growth forecast for China but warned that rising debt which has prompted concern about the country’s finances increases the risk of a sharper slowdown.
The world’s second-largest economy should expand by 6.5 percent this year, the IMF said in a report. That is up by 0.3 percentage points from the agency’s last forecast in October.
However, that growth is supported by heavy government spending and rapid expansion of credit, which “raises the risk of a sharper slowdown,” the agency said.
The report adds to mounting warnings about the economic drag of debt that has soared since the 2008 global crisis as Beijing used infusions of credit to shore up growth.
China’s growth held steady at 6.7 percent in the three months ending in September, supported by government spending and a boom in real estate sales and bank lending. Private sector forecasters expect that to decline as regulators tighten controls to cool surging credit and housing prices, which they see as a financial risk.