China’s policies cause waste, damage, IMF warnsCONSUMPTION: IMF directors urged forceful Chinese reforms, fiscal stimulus, and macroeconomic support to rebuild consumer confidence and transform growthBloombergThe IMF faulted China’s economic policies for causing waste at home and damage abroad and called for a reorientation by Beijing to embrace a model based on domestic consumer spending. “Reorienting China’s growth model requires significant cultural and economic policy transformation,” the IMF directors said. IMF executive directors called for “greater exchange rate flexibility,” while Zhang said Beijing’s currency policy is “clear and consistent,” relying on market forces to play “a decisive role.”China also took issue with IMF staff estimates of the scale and wastefulness of Beijing’s industrial policies. That reliance has “triggered overcapacity concerns, which ultimately can motivate trade actions from partners and put China’s exports at risk,” the report said. “Empirical evidence suggests that deflationary pressures are in part related to the demand slump, including from the protracted property sector correction,” the IMF said.

Source: Taipei Times February 19, 2026 17:22 UTC