The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week raised its growth forecast on China, linking the move with economic stimulus measures announced by the Chinese Government.

In the April edition of its World Economic Outlook report, the IMF said it now expects China’s economy to grow by 6.5 percent year-on-year in 2016, compared to a 6.3-percent annual growth it had estimated in January. The Fund also increased its estimate for China’s 2017 economic growth by 0.2 percentage points to 6.2 percent.

The National Bureau of Statistics of China announced last week the Chinese economy expanded 6.7 percent year-on-year in the first quarter. It was the lowest quarterly growth since 2009.

China’s leaders stated last month that the target range for growth this year would be 6.5 percent to 7 percent. They added the authorities would consider new stimulus measures if growth fell short of the appropriate range.