Moscovici says China market developments will not destabilize the European economy

Market developments in China will not destabilize the European economy, European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said on Tuesday, adding that there was no reason to doubt the EU's growth forecasts for 2016.

"We are carefully monitoring economic and financial developments in China and Russia," Moscovici told reporters. "I am convinced that the recent developments on markets are not such as to destabilize the European economy."

Activity in China's factory sector shrank at its fastest rate in at least three years in August as domestic and export orders tumbled, increasing investors' fears that the world's second-largest economy may be lurching toward a hard landing.

The latest official data show Russia's economy remains stuck in a deep recession. Economists say a recent deterioration in external conditions could scupper any economic recovery.