IMF wants China to grow its welfare state and encourage debt?

Olivier Blanchard of the IMF asserts that the global financial recovery has already started. Presumably, by this he means that some countries in the world are experiencing positive (if minute) growth.

"The turnaround will not be simple," Blanchard said. "The crisis has left deep scars, which will affect both supply and demand for many years to come."

He goes on to say that the US recovery should be export-led, while the Asian recovery should be import led.

Fair enough. But then he offers up this little gem:

"From the point of view of the United States, a decrease in China's current account surplus would help increase demand and sustain the U.S. recovery," he said. "That would result in more U.S. imports which would help sustain world recovery."

But in order for China to boost domestic demand, it will need to provide a stronger social safety net and increase household access to credit, which will encourage its consumers to save less and spend more.

Whooaah!

China was better placed than other countries to ride out the depression precisely because it wasn't mired in debt and doesn't have a weighty welfare burden like Britain's.

So the answer to the world's problems, according to the IMF is to encourage China to wreck its economy the way Brown wrecked ours?

Sounds like dreadful advice, to me.