How would a China slump hit Asian growth?

By David Mann, Standard Chartered

Economic ties around the world are evolving fast, even during the current period of relatively sluggish global growth. For Asia – the world’s most open region to trade – the question of which of the major economies matters most for external sector growth is critical.

If we just look at which economies dominate global growth, back in 2000, the answer to this question was clearly the US, and particularly the US consumer. The US economy accounted for a quarter of global GDP growth. Meanwhile, China accounted for just 7 per cent of world growth, despite its rapidly growing economy.

However, by 2014, the US share of global GDP growth had fallen to 16 per cent, whereas China’s share had risen to 30 per cent – despite the country’s slowdown.