Is IMF’s relocation from Washington to Beijing imminent? asks Shashi Tharoor

Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday (October 20) asked whether the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) headquarters would be shifted from the US to China looking at the latter’s economy predicted to grow by 1.9% in 2020 by the global organisation.

Earlier this month, the latest World Economic Outlook report was released. In that, the IMF projected China’s economy to grow by 1.9% this year, 0.9 percentage points above the IMF’s June forecast projecting a positive growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The US economy is expected to contract 4.3% in 2020.

Related news: Indian economy to contract by 10.3% in 2020, says IMF

Citing these numbers, Thiruvananthapuram MP Tharoor took to Twitter to ask whether the IMF’s headquarters’ relocation to Beijing from Washington DC was imminent.

“The International Monetary Fund’s by-laws specify that its headquarters will be located in the world’s largest economy. For 75 years this placed it in Washington,DC. With the way the US & Chinese economies are moving after #Covid-19, is the IMF’s relocation to Beijing imminent? (sic),” he tweeted.

The IMF itself says China will be the only major economy to grow this year. It predicts that China will expand 1.9% in 2020, while the U.S. would shrink by 4.3%. China’s growth will accelerate to 8.4% next year, says the IMF, compared to 3.1% in the United States. Challenging!

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 20, 2020

In another tweet, he added, “The IMF itself says China will be the only major economy to grow this year. It predicts that China will expand 1.9% in 2020, while the U.S. would shrink by 4.3%. China’s growth will accelerate to 8.4% next year, says the IMF, compared to 3.1% in the United States. Challenging! (sic).”