WASHINGTON, JULY 17 (XINHUA) -- THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) STATED ON JULY 17 THAT CHINA'S EXTERNAL POSITION IN 2018 WAS BASICALLY IN LINE WITH THE MEDIUM-TERM ECONOMIC FUNDAMENTALS, AND THE EXTERNAL REBALANCING OF THE CHINESE ECONOMY CONTINUED TO MAKE PROGRESS.THE IMF RELEASED THE "2019 EXTERNAL RISKS REPORT" ON THE SAME DAY, STATING THAT CHINA'S CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS AS A PERCENTAGE OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) HAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED FROM ABOUT 10% IN 2007 TO 0.4% IN 2018. CHINA'S EXTERNAL POSITION HAS BASICALLY MET THE MEDIUM-TERM ECONOMIC FUNDAMENTALS, INDICATING THAT CHINA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH IS NO LONGER DEPENDENT ON EXPORT DRIVEN, BUT IS SHIFTING TOWARDS DOMESTIC DEMAND DRIVEN.THE REPORT STATES THAT SINCE 2007, CHINA'S CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS HAS CONTINUED TO DECLINE SIGNIFICANTLY, WHICH IS THE RESULT OF VARIOUS FACTORS SUCH AS WEAK DEMAND FROM MAJOR DEVELOPED ECONOMIES, TECHNOLOGICAL UPGRADES IN CHINA'S MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY, APPRECIATION OF THE REAL EFFECTIVE EXCHANGE RATE OF THE RENMINBI, AND WIDENING TRADE DEFICITS IN SERVICES. THIS REFLECTS SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN CHINA'S ECONOMIC REBALANCING.AS CHINA'S ECONOMIC REBALANCING CONTINUES TO ADVANCE, THE IMF PREDICTS THAT CHINA'S CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS WILL FURTHER DECLINE IN THE COMING YEARS. THE IMF STATED THAT IN 2018, THE REAL EFFECTIVE EXCHANGE RATE OF THE RENMINBI REMAINED CONSISTENT WITH ECONOMIC FUNDAMENTALS, AND CROSS-BORDER CAPITAL FLOWS WERE A SMALL NET INFLOW FOR THE WHOLE YEAR.IMF CHIEF ECONOMIST GITA GOPINATH SAID AT A PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE SAME DAY THAT THE IMF EXPECTS CHINA TO CONTINUE TO RELY ON DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION TO DRIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH, REDUCE CREDIT DEPENDENCE, AND ENCOURAGE THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO PARTICIPATE MORE IN THE ECONOMY. SHE CALLED ON ECONOMIES WITH CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUSES AND DEFICITS TO WORK TOGETHER TO ADDRESS GLOBAL IMBALANCES, REVIVE INTERNATIONAL TRADE, AND AVOID ADOPTING DISTORTED TRADE POLICY MEASURES.THE REPORT RELEASED BY THE IMF ON THE SAME DAY ALSO SHOWED THAT THE PROPORTION OF GLOBAL CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE TO GLOBAL GDP HAS DECREASED FROM ABOUT 6% IN 2007 TO ABOUT 3% IN 2018. AMONG THEM, THE EUROZONE ECONOMIES AND ASIAN ECONOMIES SUCH AS SOUTH KOREA AND SINGAPORE HAVE LARGE CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUSES, WHILE THE UNITED STATES, THE UNITED KINGDOM, ARGENTINA, AND INDONESIA HAVE LARGE CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICITS.SINCE 2012, THE IMF HAS BEEN RELEASING AN ANNUAL EXTERNAL RISK REPORT, WHICH ANALYZES AND EVALUATES THE EXTERNAL IMBALANCES AND EXCHANGE RATES OF 29 MAJOR ECONOMIES WORLDWIDE, INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES, CHINA, GERMANY, JAPAN, AND THE EUROZONE AS A WHOLE.