President of the World Bank (WB) Robert Zoellick said Monday that the WB would expand its partnership with China to help the country become a high income nation.

Quoting China's former leader Deng Xiaoping, who described China's transformation as crossing a river by feeling the stones, Zoellick said "The WB looks forward to deepening its partnership with China. We will help China as it completes its crossing of the river.

"Experience shows that transitioning from middle income to high income status can be harder than from low income to middle income," said Zoellick at a seminar marking the 30th anniversary of China-WB partnership.

To avoid the so called "middle income trap", China was already looking at ways to generate new sources of growth, especially through urbanization, human capital formation and innovation policies, he said.

Zoellick promised to continue to work with China "to end the poverty that still affects millions of people in China and to support the rebalancing of China's economy to achieve a harmonious society."