The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised slightly its economic growth forecast for China in 2016 – to 6.6 percent – in response to the country’s economic reforms, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

In the latest edition of its World Economic Outlook report, the IMF said it now expects China’s economy to expand by 6.6 percent year-on-year in 2016, compared to the 6.5-percent annual growth the IMF had estimated in April.

“First of all, we have witnessed [in China] the determined and decisive implementation of reforms; and second, there was also support given to the economy in order to encourage growth,” explained the IMF’s managing director Christine Lagarde, speaking last week in Beijing; as quoted by Xinhua.

China’s leadership stated in March that the target range for the country’s annual growth this year would be 6.5 percent to 7 percent.

The IMF has adjusted downward its estimates for global economic growth in 2016 and 2017. It now expects the world economy to grow by 3.1 percent year-on-year in 2016 and 3.4 percent year-on-year in 2017. The reason for the lower number was the economic uncertainty surrounding the United Kingdom’s planned exit from the European Union, said the media outlet. These global forecasts for 2016 and 2017 are, respectively, 0.1 percentage point lower than the projections the international body made in April, Xinhua added.