Europe downturn could half China growth: IMF

The International Monetary Fund is warning that a sharp downturn in Europe could cut Chinas growth rate by nearly half.The IMF said Beijing should be ready to launch a stimulus to offset the impact of weakening growth abroad if European growth falters due to the continents debt crisis.The Washington-based body is forecasting 8.2 percent growth for China this year but says that could fall by up to 4 percentage points if Europes crisis results in large reductions in output.World Bank, the IMFs sibling organization, told China and other developing countries last month they should prepare for a possible global slowdown that it warned might hit them harder than the 2008 economic crisis.