One of the most noteworthy aspects of China’s recent GDP data has been the strength of services, with services now accounting for half of the value added in GDP, up from just over 40 percent in 2008. Next, I would like to discuss the third factor weighing on Asian growth – trade.
Global integration and trade growth have played a key role in the Asian economic success story, and the recent slowdown in global trade, over and above what might be expected given the weakness of advanced-economy demand discussed earlier, is likely to affect emerging Asian growth prospects. During the financial crisis, global trade collapsed. After the immediate crisis faded, trade bounced back in many cases.