On the other hand, the share of trans-Pacific trade among NAFTA, ASEAN, MERCOSUR, China and Japan excluding that between NAFTA and Japan increased from around 25 percent in 1990 to around 45 percent in 2008 (Chart 10). This fact illustrates the dramatic development of trade network among the Asian-Pacific region. The growth of Asia is leading global economy even after the global financial crisis.
Despite the bursting of the housing bubble in the U.S. and the financial turmoil after the failure of Lehman Brothers, the global economy has not fallen into a deep and prolonged slump such as that experienced in the Great Depression in 1930s (Chart 11).