2023 to be tougher for global economy than 2022, IMF chief says

This year will be tougher than 2022 for most of the global economy as the United States, European Union and China see slowing growth, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned,Qazet.az reports.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said 2023 will be a “tough year”, with one-third of the world’s economies expected to be in recession.

“Why? Because the three big economies, [the] US, EU, China, are all slowing down simultaneously,” Georgieva said during an appearance on the CBS program “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

The remarks come after the IMF in October cut its global growth forecast to 2.7 percent, down from 2.9 percent forecast in July, amid headwinds including the war in Ukraine and sharply rising interest rates.

Georgieva said that China, the world’s second-largest economy, is likely to grow at or below global growth for the first time in 40 years as COVID-19 cases surge following the dismantling of its ultra-strict “zero-COVID” policy.

“That has never happened before. And looking into next year, for three, four, five, six months the relaxation of COVID restrictions will mean bushfire COVID cases throughout China,” Georgieva said. “I was in China last week, in a bubble in the city where there is ‘zero COVID’. But that is not going to last once the Chinese people start travelling.”