World Bank Raises Global and Chinese Economic Growth Forecast in Latest Report

Xinhua News Agency, New York, June 6 (Reporter Liu Yanan) The World Bank released the latest “Global Economic Prospects” report on the 6th, predicting that the global economy will grow by 2.1% in 2023, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the January forecast, but still lower than the 3.1% in 2022; China’s economy will grow by 5.6% in 2023, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the January forecast.

The report said that the global economic growth this year will be significantly slower than last year as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues and monetary policy continues to be tightened to curb high inflation. The global economy is expected to grow by 2.4% in 2024, which is 0.3 percentage points lower than the forecast in January, and the growth rates of major economies have also been widely lowered.

Among the major developed economies, the U.S. economy is expected to grow by 1.1% this year and slow to 0.8% next year; the economic growth of the Eurozone will slow to 0.4% this year and 1.3% next year; Japan’s economy will grow by 0.8% this year and 0.7% next year %.

The World Bank expects economic growth in East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia to accelerate this year due to a recovery in China and improved growth prospects in several large economies, while growth in other regions will slow. Next year, economic growth in East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia will fall, while growth in other regions will increase due to easing internal headwinds and strengthening external demand.

The report pointed out that under the influence of factors such as the new crown epidemic, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the sharp tightening of monetary policy, the global economy is still in an unstable state. The rapid rise of interest rates in the United States poses major challenges to emerging markets and developed economies, and the possibility of a financial crisis increases.

World Bank Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Indemith Gill said that if the current banking crisis in advanced economies spreads into widespread financial turmoil and affects emerging economies, the worst-case scenario will be that the global economy will will experience a deep recession next year.