Malpass added at a press conference in Washington that the upward revision is due to an improving outlook for China’s recovery from the shutdowns due to the Covid-19 crisis, with growth now pegged at 5, 1% this year, compared to 4.3% in the Bank’s January Global Economic Outlook report.
Advanced economies, including the United States and Europe, are also doing slightly better than the World Bank had expected in January, Malpass noted at the start of the week of the World Bank and Monetary Fund’s spring meetings. international. The boss of the financial institution warned that turmoil in the banking sector and rising oil prices could again put downward pressure on growth prospects in the second half of 2023.
Malpass stressed that technical meetings scheduled for this week with Chinese officials can help “break the ice” on much-needed debt relief for poor countries.
The World Bank president said China would also be able to score political points at relatively low cost to its lending institutions. “From the point of view of their institutions, it’s not such a big amount,” Malpass said.
In a separate session, Malpass and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva argued that the slow medium-term growth outlook – below 3% this year and around 3% for the next five years estimated by the IMF – is a problem for developing countries.
Malpass said higher growth was needed for job creation and to slow economic migration from poor countries. “I hope that as we have these meetings to talk about the immediate pressing priorities of price stability and financial stability, we will pay more attention to how the world can get into growth. higher,” Georgieva said.
The IMF will publish its latest economic forecasts on Tuesday. The 2023 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the IMF, which started on Monday, will continue until April 16.
This conclave brings together actors from various backgrounds, including leaders from the public and private sectors, central bank governors, ministers, parliamentarians, representatives of civil society organizations and experts from academia around the major global issues, including global economic conditions, poverty reduction, economic development and aid effectiveness.