Andrés Oppenheimer analyzes Milei's speech as president-elect 6:07

(Reuters) -- International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry said Monday they are ready to work with Argentina's president-elect, Javier Milei.

On Sunday, Argentina elected the far-right and libertarian Javier Milei as president, betting on an "outsider" with radical ideas to fix an economy hit by triple-digit inflation, an imminent recession and a sustained increase in poverty.

The IMF has a $44 billion loan program with Argentina, the largest in the fund's history.

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"We look forward to working closely with him and his government in the coming period to develop and implement a sound plan to safeguard macroeconomic stability and strengthen inclusive growth for all," Georgieva said in a post on X.

Congratulations to 🇦🇷 President-elect Javier Milei @JMilei. We look forward to working closely with him and his administration in the period ahead to develop and implement a strong plan to safeguard macroeconomic stability and strengthen inclusive growth for all Argentinians.

— Kristalina Georgieva (@KGeorgieva) November 20, 2023

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China, another key lender to Latin America's third-largest economy, also congratulated Argentina on the election.

"We are willing to work with the Argentine side to continue our friendship, boost our respective development and revitalization with win-win cooperation, and promote the stable and long-term development of China-Argentina relations," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing.

It remains to be seen what position Milei takes on China after his inauguration on December 10. During the election campaign, the libertarian leader had expressed his intention to break trade relations with that country, one of Argentina's main economic partners.

"We don't make pacts with communists," Milei had said in a report with Bloomberg.

ChinaIMFJavier Milei