IMF hails China economy on right way 'from quantity to quality'

DUBAI -- Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said here Tuesday that IMF "does not believe that the world's second largest economy will face a hard landing" and that China's decision to transform "from quantity to quality" is the right way.

Speaking at the Global Women's Forum 2016, Lagarde said China's lower growth was "deliberate" and healthy as the government has decided to transform the country from a place of mass production to quality production and from investment to consuming.

"This is a big transition of a business model, moving from heavy manufacturing to lighter manufacturing, and also a bit less predominantly export-driven," she said.

Lagarde added together with a new mechanism of exchange rates, with a new approach to governance "if you combine these massive transitions we move in China from double-digit growth about five six years ago to something that we see probably that we see probably at 6.3 percent and probably to 6.0 percent next year."

While China's new growth model "has an impact on the import of raw materials, minerals, but oil not so much actually, it is still growth," said the IMF managing director.

Christine Lagarde started her three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates on Monday, marking her first time visit to the Gulf state as chief of the international financial organization.