China Expects Russian Economy to Return to 'Positive Zone' in 2017

HANGZHOU (China), (Sputnik) — China notes a significant improvement in the Russian economy and expects it to "return to the positive zone" next year, Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said Friday.

"We are watching Russia’s economy very closely and we note that a good macroeconomic policy is being carried out by the Bank of Russia and the Russian Finance Ministry… We note significant improvement, however Russia’s economy has not yet returned to the positive zone. It is possible that it will happen next year," the deputy minister told foreign reporters, speaking ahead of the Group of Twenty (G20) summit.

On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report that the economic contraction in Russia had reached its bottom and the country’s economic outlook started to improve. According to a July forecast, the IMF expects Russia to go out of recession in 2017, reaching 1-percent growth of the gross domestic product (GDP).

The 2016 summit of the world’s 20 biggest economies will kick off in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou on Sunday to last through Monday.