PARIS – Trade between China and the European Union (EU) could be negatively affected as the euro zone crisis continues to worsen amid the fear of a possible Greek exit of the region, Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, said on Wednesday.

Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, speaks at a press briefing during the forum of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris on May 23. [Photo by Wang Dong/chinadaily.com.cn]

"The world economy is not doing well and the weak economic growth contributed to a very low volume of trade this year," Lamy said at a press briefing during the forum of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris.

Lamy’s comment came ahead of the EU summit in Brussels where European leaders are expected discuss solutions to keep Greece in the euro zone.

OECD Chief Economist Pier Carlo Padoan said that the crisis in the euro zone remains the single biggest downside risk facing the global economic outlook.

The Paris-based organization, in its latest economic outlook, forecasts that the eurozone economy will shrink by 0.1 percent this year and grow by 0.9 percent in 2013.

Lamy also said that China's solid economic growth and its strong domestic demand will help offset the negative impact on its foreign trade.

Meanwhile, China is becoming a major importer worldwide, which will help drive growth and create more jobs elsewhere in the world, he added.