The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its growth forecasts for China for this year and 2023 as strict Covid curbs and a crisis in the property sector fuel a slowdown in the world's number two economy.

China's gross domestic product is expected to expand 3.2 percent this year, the IMF said in its quarterly global forecast, down 0.1 percentage point from its previous forecast in July.

That would be the country's weakest growth in around four decades, excluding the first year of the pandemic, according to data from the government and the World Bank.

The IMF said growth would pick up to 4.4 percent next year, though that would still be a 0.2 percentage point drop on its previous estimate.

Both figures are well below Beijing's stated GDP growth target for this year of around 5.5 percent..

China last year recorded healthy expansion of 8.1 percent, albeit from a lower base owing to the impact of virus lockdowns in 2020. (AFP)