Beijing - The redundancy of millions of migrants who worked in export-oriented factories in China's affluent south-east could curtail recent economic growth in rural areas, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Friday.

"The recent increase in return migration and subsequent fall in remittances could threaten the important progress made in raising rural living standards," Angel Gurria, the organization's secretary general, told reporters in Beijing.

"The current recession has put into harsh relief the low level of social safety nets and the livelihood of migrant workers," Gurria said.

Chinese officials have said at least 20 million of the country's estimated 130 million migrant workers have lost their jobs with the closure of thousands of factories in recent months.

"The economic crisis threatens every aspect of every economy in the world and, therefore, the rural economy of China," Gurria said.

He said his organization expected "very negative" growth among its 30 member states this year.

"Now we are probably seeing a world which will go negative because even the positive growth of India and China is not going to be enough to offset the negative growth [of OECD nations]," Gurria said.

The OECD expected China's growth to slow to 6 per cent to 7 per cent, he said, echoing a World Bank forecast this week of 6.5-per-cent growth in China's gross domestic product in 2009.

An OECD report on China's rural development policy said rural job creation was vital for maintaining economic growth.

The report urged the Chinese government to expand its efforts to improve social services in rural areas, develop infrastructure, encourage small businesses by making loans more accessible and create more jobs outside agriculture in sectors such as tourism and renewable energy.

"In the long term, China must look beyond agriculture for a sustainable and diversified rural economy," Gurria said.

The government has already prioritized rural development as it seeks to create new jobs in inland areas and promote domestic demand to offset a sharp fall in exports.

In November, it announced plans for a 4-trillion-yuan (586-billion-dollar) economic stimulus package, including 1.18 trillion yuan in direct government investment for new projects in social welfare, technology, environment and infrastructure.

"We are encouraged that much of the package that was announced will have an impact in the rural areas," Gurria said.

The OECD consists of 30 nations, most of them among the world's most developed economies. They include the United States, Mexico, Canada, Germany, France, Britain, Japan, South Korea and Australia.

China is not a member of the OECD, but it is one of five large developing nations that the OECD has prioritized for "enhanced engagement." (dpa)