WASHINGTON - Developing countries should build buffers to prevent spillover effects triggered by slow economic growth and debt woes in developed economies, the World Bank's chief economist Justin Yifu Lin said here Wednesday.

The global economy has entered a new period of danger, as both sides of the Atlantic were bogged down in sagging economic growth with key economies including the United States being stripped of their top-notch credit ratings, Lin said at the World Bank's Chief Economists' Roundtable ahead of the Bank's annual meetings.

Lin, along with the Bank's six chief economists who represent the six main developing regions of the world, held that with the rising fiscal and financial uncertainties from developed countries, developing countries should "hope for the best and prepare for the worst."

The world should pay close attention to the vulnerability of developing countries, the key driver of this round of global economic recovery, he said. If growth slows in developing countries, challenges, such as rising non-performing loans, may emerge, cautioned Lin, who is also the Bank's senior vice president.

Lin contended developing countries should build buffers by taking such measures as enhancing their financial sector's risk resistance capacity and identifying new sectors with good growth momentum.

The Washington-based Bank and its sister agency the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are scheduled to kick off its annual meetings later this week.