The launch conference for the “2014 World Economic Situation Analysis and Forecast” was held in Beijing on the afternoon of December 25. The report forecasts that the road to global economic recovery will remain highly tortuous next year, with a significant rebound unlikely, but growth is expected to rise slightly to 3.2%, 0.3 percentage points higher than this year. China will remain one of the main engines driving global economic growth, and the Chinese economy will not experience a “hard landing.”

　　Zhang Yuyan, chief editor of the book, said in response to a question from Dazhihui News Agency that economic conditions in developed countries will continue to improve next year: the U.S. recovery will gradually consolidate, with growth of 2% this year and an expected 2–2.3% next year; Europe's growth was -0.4% this year and is expected to rise to 0.5% or even 1% next year; Japan has achieved positive growth for three consecutive quarters this year, and its growth rate is expected to be slightly slower next year, but given its relatively small size, overall the major developed economies of the U.S., Europe and Japan show a clear trend of improvement.

　　Zhang Yuyan said growth in emerging economies such as India and Brazil is expected to continue declining next year. Considering that emerging economies and developing countries account for more than 49% of world GDP while developed countries account for more than 50%, although the exact magnitude of the decline in emerging economies is not yet certain, conditions in developed countries are somewhat better, and taken together, next year's situation will still be better than this year's.

　　Last week (December 18), the United Nations released its “World Economic Situation and Prospects 2014” report, forecasting global economic growth of 3% in 2014, with the U.S. growing 2.5%, Europe about 1.5%, Japan 1.5%, and China about 7.7%. World economic growth will improve somewhat over the next two years.