IMF hikes economic forecast for China

The International Monetary Fund has raised its growth forecast for the Chinese economy and global economy for the next two years.

In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF predicted that the Chinese economy will grow at 6.6 percent in 2017 and 6.2 percent in 2018, up by 0.1 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points, respectively, from its last such report in January. The increase was 0.4 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points from its forecasts in October.

The report was released on Tuesday, just a day after China's announcement that its economy grew by a robust 6.9 percent in the first quarter of this year.