Asian growth set to be more moderate, but above all more balanced

Given weaker export momentum coupled with mostly solid import demand, countries such as China, India and Thailand actually recorded negative net exports last year. According to calculations performed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the growth contribution from external trade in China’s case was -0.2 percentage points in 2011. In India, the negative contribution was as much as 1.8 percentage points. In many countries, however, private consumption started to deliver increasing growth impetus. In 2011, Chinese private consumption contributed more than 3 percentage points to economic growth of 9.2%, compared with a contribution of only 2.1 percentage points one year earlier, although real GDP growth was higher at 10.4%.