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World Bank president Robert Zoellick said Wednesday it was too soon for China to roll back its massive stimulus measures as the world's third largest economy could yet falter on the road to recovery.
Zoellick, in Beijing this week for talks with Chinese leaders, said he was not worried about inflation as it was more important to keep the economic revival on track.
"China's actions have helped to prevent the global crisis from getting worse and I agree with its leaders that it's too early to roll back fiscal and monetary measures," Zoellick told a news conference.
"The recovery might be here but it could falter."
Zoellick said he now expected China's economy to grow by nearly eight percent in 2009 -- a figure which he noted was higher than the World Bank's official forecast of 7.2 percent.
Strong growth in the Chinese economy had contributed to the early signs of a global recovery, Zoellick said.
"With growth in China now projected at close to eight percent for 2009 as a whole, and signs of stabilisation in many other economies in Asia and around the world, the chances of a truly global recovery have increased measurably." Zoellick, who met Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday, said China recognised there were still "large uncertainties" facing the country and that it was important to "maintain the monetary and fiscal stance", not "shift to exit strategies".
Wen told Zoellick during the meeting that China would continue to pursue a proactive fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy, according to state media.
China last year unveiled an unprecedented four-trillion-yuan (580 billion dollars) stimulus package aimed at boosting domestic demand as exports plunged.
Zoellick arrived in China on Monday for a visit focused on global recovery from the financial crisis and the Chinese economy.
He met officials from China Investment Corporation, the country's 200-billion-dollar sovereign wealth fund, to discuss the idea of joining an asset management company which the World Bank hopes will become a different model for its financial mediation efforts.
"As opposed to... raising debt or making loans and equity investments, we would intermediate as an asset management corporation," Zoellick said.
"CIC has expressed interest in this as a commercial investment vehicle but no decision has been made on their part."
In addition to his meetings in Beijing, Zoellick was due to visit World Bank-supported projects in eastern Anhui province.
