Britain's vote to leave the European Union has added new uncertainties to the global economy at a time when downward pressures on China are mounting, Premier Li Keqiang said today at a World Economic Forum meeting.
Excess capacity, sluggish investment and waning demand weigh on the world's number two economy, Li said at the annual meeting in Tianjin, a port city in northern China.
Last week's British vote had already had an impact on international financial markets, Li, said, "adding new uncertainties to the world".
"Due to the severe and complicated international environment and long-accumulated, deep-rooted domestic problems, the foundation of a stable Chinese economy is not solid," Li went on.
"There remain rather enormous downward pressures on the economy and the difficulties cannot be underestimated," he stated.
But he also sought to reassure the audience, saying that China's recognition of the difficulties showed it had the "resolution" and "capabilities" to overcome them.
China's economy, a pillar of global trade, will not have a hard landing, he predicted.
The meeting, a Davos-like gathering of 2,000 elite business and political leaders from over 80 countries, was ostensibly focused on topics related to science and technology but the surprise Brexit vote overshadowed other topics.
Economist Nouriel Roubini, known for predicting the US property crash, said that Brexit could be "the beginning of the disintegration of the European Union", but added he did not expect a financial crisis or global recession.
