International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde participates in a Seminar on Global Economy as part of the 2015 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Lima, Peru, October 8, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde said China's economic outlook is not all "doom and gloom" and she expects it to gain traction next year.

Lagarde told the BBC in an exclusive interview that the Chinese economy was undergoing "massive transitions."

"I would say it is a recovery that is decelerating a bit," adding that she expected it to regain its momentum next year.

China enjoyed double-digit growth for decades, but slowed to 7.4% last year, according to IMF statistics, the BBC said.

The Chinese government says it expects growth to slow further to about 7.0% this year, and the IMF?is forecasting 6.8%.

China is shifting from an export-led economy to a consumer-led model, and Lagarde told the BBC the IMF was "very supportive of the transition that is taking place at the moment."

China, she said, was making efforts to better manage its currency exchange rates and interest rates movements, and expected Beijing to communicate to the world what was going on in the eco0nomy "over the course of time."

"You don't move overnight from being heavily controlled to being market-determined, with massive market expectations that suddenly the situation should be the same across the world," Lagarde told the BBC. "It just doesn't happen that way."

To contact the reporter: chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com