Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, ended a two-day visit to China Sunday with praise for the communist country's business policies.

Lagarde said in a statement in Beijing she is encouraged that Chinese authorities are focusing not just on the level of growth, but on growth that is more widely shared across the entire population.

She called China a bright spot in an uncertain global economy, and said the global economic situation might have been much worse except for the impetus that Beijing provides to growth and stability.

Lagarde urged China to forge ahead by maintaining a prominent role in global policy discussion and by sustaining efforts to accelerate the transformation of the Chinese economy.

During her visit, Lagarde met with Vice Premier Wang Qishan, People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan and other senior officials.