IMF's Lagarde says China's economy can avoid 'hard landing'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's economy can avoid a "hard landing" and shift to a lower, more sustainable growth rate if Beijing pursues reforms to state enterprises and sticks to a more market-driven and well-communicated exchange rate policy, the International Monetary Fund's chief said on Thursday.

"China is going through that massive, multi-faceted transition and we do not expect a hard landing of China as has been talked about for many years," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in an online media briefing.

But Lagarde also said she anticipated increased demand from emerging markets for financial support from the IMF and other multilateral institutions as they struggle with slower global growth due in part to China's economic transition.

(Reporting by David Lawder and Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Paul Simao)

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