Growth outlook good, despite headwinds

China's economy faces strong external headwinds, even though its contribution to world growth this year is likely to exceed that of the United States, the country's vice-finance minister said.

Vice-Minister Zhu Guangyao made the remarks on Saturday at a symposium presented by Tsinghua University. He cited the latest International Monetary Fund assessment of the world economy to illustrate China's bleak external prospects.

The IMF report, released in early October, documented the worst global growth since 2009. For the fourth time in a single year, the IMF lowered its outlook on world growth - from 3.8 percent to 3.1 percent. Emerging economies would see an aggregate decline, the report said, though the developed world is expected to post its best performance since 2010.