(ECNS) -- The index of China External Environment Monitor PMI (CEEM-PMI) reached 50.6 in the first quarter of 2016, flat with the fourth quarter in 2015, according to a report issued by the Institute of World Economy and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
CEEM-PMI, a gauge made by the institute, is used to measure the external environment for China's economy.
This index shows China's external environment has hit a record low in recent years, web portal caixin.com reported.
It said Brazil faced a further recession in 2015, while India maintained stable growth. The general economic situation in the United States shows slight improvement while the Euro-zone and Japan retains a slowdown.
The report also predicted that global economic growth would be sluggish in the long term and that there was less room for financial and monetary policies to play their roles.
The world economic slowdown is also contributing to the rise of political powers that advocate extremism and protectionism, and can cause new economic uncertainties in future, it was stated.
The institute called on China to take advantage of its current presidency of the G20 to curb protectionism in the fields of international trade, investment and global finance.
It also urged the country to accelerate reform of the RMB exchange mechanism and promote internationalization of its currency so companies could benefit more in overseas development.
