Zhou Xiaochuan, China's central bank chief, said Wednesday the
world economic growth may experience a slowdown next year, but it
is likely to have only mild effect on China's growth.
"The sub-prime crisis in the United States has dampened US
consumers' spending, and has likely affected some European
consumers as well," Zhou, governor of the People's Bank of China,
said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.
China's export to the United States is likely to suffer mildly
because of such scale-back in consumer spending, but that can
somewhat sort out the imbalances in bilateral trade, and is likely
to have only mild effect on China's economic growth, said Zhou.
The central bank chief said developments in the next two months
are to be closely watched, as US consumers enter their annual
spending frenzy before Christmas. The United States also imports
huge volume of goods during this time of the year.
Zhou recommended export-oriented companies in China to explore
other markets rather than focusing only on the US market, in order
to minimize the effect of a possible slowdown in exports to the
United States.
The central bank chief has just attended a two-day G20 meeting
focusing on global financial stability. He said most participants
agreed that the world economy is experiencing a slowdown in the
aftermath of US sub-prime crisis, but the slowdown trend is
unlikely to be prominent, and next year's economic outlook is still
promising.
(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2007)
