World Bank cuts 2022 East Asia growth outlook.

Economic growth in East Asia and the Pacific will weaken sharply in 2022 due to China's slowdown, but the pace of expansion will pick up next year, the World Bank said.

The bank said in a report that it expected 2022 growth in the East Asia and Pacific region, which includes China, to slow to 3.2%, down from its 5% forecast in April and the previous year's growth of 7.2%.

The weaker forecast was due mainly to a sharp slowdown in China, caused by its strict zero-Covid-19 rules that have disrupted industrial production, domestic sales and exports, the World Bank said.

China, which constitutes 86% of the 23-country regions economic output, was projected to grow 2.8% this year, a significant deceleration from the banks April forecast of 5%.

In 2021, China's economy expanded 8.1%, its best growth in a decade.

For 2023, the world's second-largest economy was seen growing at 4.5%.

The World Bank's downgrade of its China forecasts comes as economists are increasingly pessimistic about China's outlook for next year.

Source: www.reuters.com

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