China’s interventions to stem its stock market turmoil should not derail its bid to gain reserve status for its currency, the International Monetary Fund managing director has said, predicting that the country’s economy is strong enough to withstand the equity ruckus.

国际货币基金组织(IMF)总裁表示，中国政府为遏止股市震荡而采取的干预行动，不应该破坏它争取让人民币成为储备货币的努力。她还预测，中国经济足够强大，能够承受股市动荡。

Christine Lagarde endorsed Beijing’s efforts to calm its stock market, playing down the declines in Shanghai to date as she pointed out the market was still up 80 per cent on a year ago.

克里斯蒂娜•拉加德(Christine Lagarde)对北京方面的股市护盘努力给予肯定，她淡化了上海股市近期下滑的重要性，指出其仍比一年前高出80%。

“We believe that the Chinese economy is resilient and strong enough to withstand that kind of significant variation in the markets,” she said in an online question and answer session.

“我们相信，中国经济具有足够的韧性，也足够强大，能够承受市场的大幅变动，”她在一个网上问答活动期间表示。

China is seeking to gain admission for the renminbi to the IMF’s basket of currencies making up its special drawing rights, or SDRs. The SDRs are funds that member countries can draw on in a crisis, and the inclusion of the Chinese currency in the basket of elite currencies would be an endorsement of its efforts to open up its financial system and a boost to the country’s prestige.

中国正寻求让人民币加入组成IMF特别提款权(SDR)的货币篮子。特别提款权是成员国在危机期间可以动用的资金，若人民币被纳入这一精英货币篮子，那将是对中国开放金融体系努力的肯定，将提高中国的威望。

The sell-off in Chinese shares in recent weeks has prompted official interventions, including bans on sales of large stakes and liquidity measures to prop up values, triggering questions about the country’s financial stability and commitment to liberalising markets.

中国股市近几周出现的抛售，已促使官方采取干预措施，包括禁止出售大笔股份，以及输送流动性以支撑股价，这些措施令人质疑中国的金融稳定及其对放开市场的承诺。

Ms Lagarde said observers should not be surprised that the Chinese authorities wanted to avoid a “disorderly functioning” of these markets. “That is the duty of central authorities,” she said. “The fact that they want to maintain a level of liquidity that is commensurate with an orderly process is quite good.”

拉加德表示，观察人士不应该对中国当局希望避免这些市场的“无序运作”感到惊讶。“那是中央政府的责任，”她说。“他们希望把流动性保持在与有序过程相称的水平，这相当不错。”

As to whether the episode would play in the IMF’s assessment of the SDR basket, Ms Lagarde said she did not think so, adding that while the fund would remain vigilant, it was “cognisant of the very significant reforms the Chinese authorities are implementing”.

至于这件事会不会影响IMF对特别提款权货币篮子的评估，拉加德表示，她认为不会。她补充说，尽管IMF将保持警觉，但该机构“意识到中国当局正在落实非常重大的改革”。

Speaking at a separate event, Jack Lew, US Treasury secretary, said China should accept that economic reforms are “disruptive” and should not allow stock market volatility to deter them.

在另一个场合，美国财政部长杰克•卢(Jack Lew)在发表讲话时表示，中国应当接受经济改革是“破坏性的”，不应该被股市波动吓倒。

“One of the realities in a market economy is that markets go up and markets go down,” Mr Lew said in Washington. “So I think you have to separate the fact that markets can be volatile, and move, from what the policies are.”

“市场经济的一个现实是，市场总是在上上下下，”卢在华盛顿表示。“所以我认为你必须将市场会波动、会起起伏伏这个事实，与政策是什么分开。”

“The serious question that I think comes out of [recent events] is what does it mean in terms of China’s resolve to continue with the reform programme?” he said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast.

“我认为，（近期事件）引发的一个严肃问题是：就中国继续推行改革计划的决心而言，它意味着什么？”他在《基督教科学箴言报》(Christian Science Monitor)的一个早餐会上表示。

“I hope for the sake of China’s economy and the world economy that they stick to the reform agenda.” Repeating a long-held US view, he said that to get on a “good, solid path” to growth China needed to continue moving away from a centralised, industrial economy to one driven by consumers and competition.

“我希望，为了中国经济，也为了世界经济，他们将坚持改革议程。”他重申了美国的长期观点，表示要进入“良好、坚实的增长轨道”，中国需要继续摆脱集中化工业经济的模式，转向由消费者和竞争驱动的经济。

“That’s going to mean change. That kind of change is going to be disruptive,” he said. “We’ve encouraged that process to be speeded up . . . There’s a risk that if they wait too long, they miss some of that opportunity.”

“这将意味着改变。这样的变化将是破坏性的，”他表示。“我们鼓励加快这个过程……目前存在一个风险，即如果他们等待过久，他们将错失一部分机遇。”

Asked about Greece, Ms Lagarde reiterated the IMF’s position that some debt restructuring would inevitably be needed as part of the country’s turnround efforts.

在被问及希腊时，拉加德重申了IMF的立场，即作为该国扭转局面努力的一部分，一定程度的债务重组将是不可避免的。