Zoellick wants China to hasten structural reforms

World Bank chief Robert Zoellick has urged the Chinese government to hasten a planned structural reform to shift the focus to domestic consumption-led growth and said, the bigger challenge for China was if events in the global economy led to a deeper downturn that affected demand for China's exports.

He said China need to think about the structural basis for future growth, adding, the world economy would enter a new 'danger zone' this autumn.

"China's structural challenges occur in the current international context of slowing growth and weakening confidence," he told a conference in Beijing.

The global economic indicators made for a bleak reading, he said.

According to a monthly report by the European Commission, business and consumer confidence in the euro zone for August slipped to its lowest level since May 2010.

Also a White House report has predicted that US GDP growth would remain between 1.7 per cent and 2.1 per cent in 2011, down from earlier predictions of 2.7 per cent.