World Bank warns China can't make up for collapse in Western demand

The World Bank has slashed China’s economic growth forecast to 6.5pc for this year, blaming the intensifying global economic downturn and the collapse in Western demand for exports.

By Peter Foster in Beijing
Published: 7:13AM GMT 18 Mar 2009

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David Dollar, the Bank's country director for China, added that the world should not expect China’s economy to make up for plummeting demand in the West in the near future.

“China’s consumption is still only one-sixth of US consumption. A Chinese man buys two pairs of shoes a year, compared with ten pairs for the average American. It’s clear that that situation is not going to change overnight,â€