The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday confirmed its view that China will continue to grow strongly in the coming years.

At a press conference at the IMF headquarters, IMF chief economist Kenneth Rogoff said China is growing very strongly and he expected China will achieve an annual growth rate of 7.5 percent in both 2003 and 2004.

But from the perspective of the global economy, Rogoff also said China is still relatively small in the world trade.

In its latest World Economic Outlook released Wednesday, the IMF said China's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 8 percent in 2002.

The IMF said strong export growth has been underpinned by China's entry into the World Trade Organization, more active private sector participation in export activities, and the transfer of foreign production facilities to China, which has boosted investment spending.

(People's Daily April 10, 2003)