WASHINGTON, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The United States economy is not heading for recession and even its slowdown will have little effect on world economy, the International Monetary Fund chief economist Simon Johnson said Thursday.

    "We do not think the U.S. is heading for recession," Johnson told a news conference. "If the United States sneezes, you should worry about other parts of the world catching cold. But at the moment, other parts of the world are healthy."

    "The U.S. economy has also been taking its vitamins. While there are problems in one important sector and a couple of regions of the United States, overall the economy is very healthy," he said.

    Johnson made such remarks at the release of a portion of the IMF's semi-annual World Economic Outlook (WEO).

    The full report of WEO, which is to be released next week, also said any slowdown in the U.S. economy can exert spillover in both advanced and developing countries, especially to those with strong trade ties with the United States.

    But it added the U.S. slowdown will have little "discernible effect" on growth in most other countries.