Chinese vice-premier Wang Qishan has warned that the global economy is in a grim state and that an "unbalanced recovery" might be the best option.
The remark - made at talks between Chinese and US officials - marked Wang's second dire comment on the world economy in just a few days.
On Saturday, he said a "chronic" global recession was certain, and China must focus on its domestic problems.
Policymakers globally have expressed increasing alarm at the risks facing the world economy, mainly stemming from financial contagion in Europe. Today, Singapore and Thailand forecast their economies would shrink in the fourth quarter and Japan posted a much bigger fall in October exports than expected.
"Global economic conditions remain grim, and ensuring economic recovery is the overriding priority," said Wang, the top official steering China's financial and trade policy, at the start of the second day of talks.
Wang, speaking at the annual US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, or JCCT, in the southwest Chinese city of Chengdu, also said China and the US should work together to achieve balanced economic growth.
But his comments also suggested that China should focus on bolstering its own growth before it worried about global imbalances - in other words, a strong Chinese economy that brings a continued trade deficit with the US would be better for the world economy than a slowdown in China itself.
Wang's Saturday comments on the global economy were the most downbeat to date from a senior Chinese policymaker and weighed down Chinese and Hong Kong stocks this morning.
China's growth is slowing - down to an annual 9.1% in the third quarter from 9.5% in the second-quarter and 9.7% in the first quarter - but the rate remains within the government's comfort zone.
After tightening monetary policy to fight the threat of inflation, the central bank has since loosened its grip on bank credit in a bid to support cash-starved small firms and pledged to fine-tune policy if needed as economic growth slowed down.
