WASHINGTON (AFX) - UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said he remains "cautiously optimistic" about the prospects of the UK economy in the face of the global economic slowdown. Talking to reporters at the National Press Club in Washington, Brown said that the global economy is facing clear challenges, and that 2002 will be a critical year for restoring growth in the world economy. "I think the challenges remain, the uncertainties about the world economy, these are testing times both for America, for Europe and Japan which is in recession," Brown said. "I am cautiously optimistic about the British economy. Equally, however, I know there is a large measure of risk and uncertainty about what is to happen in the world, and what will happen structurally to commodity prices," Brown said adding that this is the big test that the world will face in the coming year. "Each continent must now plays its part in ensuring that the world economy can move forward," Brown said.