Worries on China economy 'unfounded'

PARIS - Growth of the booming Chinese economy will remain strong this year and play a major role in reshaping the golobal economic activities, a senior economist at HSBC bank said here Monday.

Speaking to the daily le Figaro, Stephen King said he expected Chinese growth to quicken in 2013, dismissing fears over a possible slowdown of the world's second largest economy.

"Remarks about an eventual slowdown in China were unfounded... Its contribution to the global growth is more important than ever, four times more than 15 years ago," the HSBC chief economist stressed.

"Even if the Chinese economy slows down, its weight and its influence on the global economy are paradoxically higher," he added.

China's Asian neighbours and energy producers would benefit the most from lucrative business opportunities in China, according to the expert.