World Bank head Robert Zoellick said that China’s growth could help the world overcome the global economic downturn, AFP reported. Speaking at a conference in Canada, Zoellick also lauded the renminbi’s progress toward becoming a global reserve currency. While he said he expected China’s economic growth this year to "surprise on the upside," he warned about the risks of protectionism. "In this environment, if you had protectionism burst out on one side or the other, or have some doubt put in about financial markets, those are the type of factors that could take a fragile situation and make it worse." In March, the World Bank revised downward its growth projection for China’s economy in 2009 to 6.5% from an earlier estimate of 7.5%.