PARIS – There are signs of robust expansion in most advanced economies but a “possible moderation” of China’s surging economic activity, the OECD said in a report Monday. The prospects are for “expansion in most OECD countries,” the report said. Indicators from February “continue pointing to robust expansion relative to trend in Germany and the United States and a possible regained momentum in France and Canada,” the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said. However this composite of leading indicators “for China points to a possible moderation in economic activity,” it added. China, which last year overtook Japan as the number-two economy, has already set a growth target of eight percent for 2011, and is aiming for seven percent a year from 2011 to 2015.
On Sunday China announced it had returned a trade surplus in March after posting its first trade deficit in nearly a year in February. China is expected to post a large trade surplus for the full year, as its foreign trade tends to go through a seasonal cycle with monthly trade surpluses later in the year.Washington, one of the harshest critics of Beijing’s trade policy, acknowledged in March that China was taking steps to boost imports.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said last month that China had no alternative but to shift its growth strategy toward relying more on domestic growth as demand weakens in the US and Europe — but added it needed to do more. The OECD’s message was mixed for China’s partners in the BRIC group of emerging economies, with thew OECD seeing “a slowdown” for India while “Russia continues pointing to expansion”. Brazil’s economy “should remain near its long-term potential,” the report said, the OECD suggested Britain is heading for “a slow but stable pace of expansion.” The organisation said it was not in a position to provide reliable estimates for Japan which is currently recovering from a devastating earthquake and tsunami which has left several economic unknowns. For Italy the indicators point “to a loss of momentum in economic activity,” the OECD said.
