European Central Bank president Mr Wim Duisenberg said there are signs the global economic downturn has ended.
He says the risks predicted in connection with the US terror attacks appear to have "largely evaporated". Mr Duisenberg made the comments in a speech to a symposium at the People's Bank of China.
He said he "feels some relief" the world economy has proved relatively resilient to the shock of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Mr Duisenberg said a mild recovery was generally expected to start in 2002, accelerating in 2003.
But he said he was also aware of risks relating to imbalances that built up during the previous period of exceptionally strong growth in the world economy.
These imbalances include protracted current account deficits; household and corporate debts; over-investment in certain industries; and fragility in the financial sectors of some countries.
Mr Duisenberg said the extent to which trade would finally pick up from the historical lows witnessed in the second-half of 2001 was an important issue. He said protectionism and obstacles to further international trade integration would hinder this process.