Asia trade growth lags behind GDP
(9 December 2015 – Singapore) Trade growth in Asia has lagged behind GDP growth over the last three years according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Despite being the fastest growing region in the world, ADB said the slowdown is a result of structural factors such as China's rebalancing and a slower expansion of global value chains.
"The global value chains may have reached a stage where it's taking a break,” said ADB’s chief economist, Shang-Jin Wei.
“(Whether) it's a temporary break or permanent break, we'll have to wait and see. But one of the ways we see (from) the data is that the reduction in the growth rate of trade happens more for intermediate - parts and components - trade, than for final goods trade," he said.
The ADB also highlighted China's increasing role in affecting economic growth across Asia. The bank found that China's impact on Asian growth has increased from 16 percent to 24 percent between the six years periods before and after the global economic crisis.
Subscribe