International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that while a “substantial portion” of the global economy appears better now than a year ago, some risks persist.

“Growth continues to strengthen and broaden among the emerging and developing economies,” and momentum is starting to pick up in the U.S., Lagarde said Sunday in remarks at the Boao Forum for Asia, in the southern Chinese province of Hainan.

Lagarde said she was giving a preview of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook report due next week, without providing numbers. The IMF in January cut its 2013 global growth forecast to 3.5 percent and predicted a second year of contraction in the 17-country euro area.

Risks include a “patchy recovery” with concerns that “naturally center on Europe,” Lagarde said.

“While there has been progress on a number of fronts, policy solutions will take time to be completed and effective,” she said.

Fiscal risks are also weighing on growth, she said, citing spending cuts in the U.S. and a “medium-term challenge” in Japan.

Monetary policies have limits in their effectiveness and may include unintended consequences, Lagarde said, while praising last week’s expanded stimulus from the Bank of Japan as “another welcome step in this direction.”

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