Washington: US treasury secretary Henry Paulson said that the recent US stock market volatility does not necessarily reflect strong fundamentals in the US economy, nor those of the developing Chinese economy.

In a radio interview, Paulson said despite weakness in manufacturing and housing, the US economy was strong, with low unemployment and strengthening exports.

Paulson said that markets at any one time don''t necessarily reflect the economic fundamentals in markets. "Certainly you don''t move in a straight line one way or the other forever. So as long as you have markets, you''re going to have volatility," Paulson said.

Asked whether this week''s stock market declines indicated more volatility and risks in the US economy, Paulson said, "For at least as long as I have been looking at markets, there is volatility in markets.