The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the global economy faces a growing "risk of economic derailment."
Deputy director David Lipton called for urgent steps to boost global demand.
"We are clearly at a delicate juncture," he said in a speech to the
National Association for Business Economics in Washington on Tuesday.
"The IMF's latest reading of the global economy shows once again a weakening baseline," he warned.
The comments come after weaker-than-expected trade figures from China
showing that exports in February plunged by a quarter from a year ago.
With the world's second largest economy often referred to as as "the
engine of global growth", weaker global demand for its goods is read as
an indicator of the general global economic climate.
'Highly vulnerable'
The IMF has already said it is likely to downgrade its current
forecast of 3.4% for global growth when it releases its economic
predictions in April.
Last month, the international lender had warned that the world
economy was "highly vulnerable" and called for new efforts to spur
growth.
In a report ahead of last month's Shanghai G20 meeting, the IMF said
the group should plan a co-ordinated stimulus programme as world growth
had slowed and could be derailed by market turbulence, the oil price
crash and geopolitical conflicts.
In his Washington speech, Mr Lipton said "the burden to lift growth
falls more squarely on advanced economies" which have fiscal room to
move.
"The downside risks are clearly much more pronounced than before, and
the case for more forceful and concerted policy action, has become more
compelling."
"Moreover, risks have increased further, with volatile financial
markets and low commodity prices creating fresh concerns about the
health of the global economy," he added.
The downbeat picture is one that has continuing ramifications for businesses and industries that bet on China's growth story.
A slew of weak economic data has recently added to those concerns and
US ratings agency Moody's has downgraded its outlook for China from
"stable" to "negative".
There also is concern over rising unemployment as Beijing seeks to
gradually shift its economy from overdependence on manufacturing and
industry towards more services and consumer spending.
China's economy is growing at the slowest rate in 25 years, and the
slowdown has created considerable uncertainty in financial markets
around the world and led to sharp falls in commodity prices.
