Chinanews, Beijing, Apr. 6 – In 2006, economic growth of East Asian new economies reached 8.1%, the highest in the past decade. In 2007, their economic growth might drop a little bit down to 7.3%, the World Bank (WB) said in Beijing on Thursday.

 

WB made the prediction in its East Asia Semi-Annual Report issued on Thursday. The report says that ten years after the 1997 East Asian Financial Crisis, the region has become wealthier than before. It has fewer poor people and the region has played a larger role than ever before in the world.

 

In 2006, China led the economic growth in the region and contributed to over half of the GDP of all new East Asian economies. China's GDP growth reached a high point of 10.7% and for four consecutive years its GDP maintained a growth rate of more than 10%, mostly driven by large export and investment.

 

At the same time, economy in countries with a low income level, including Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, and Vietnam, was also full of vigor, and the economic growths in these countries also reached 8-10%.

 

However, since the second half of last year, economy tended to slow down in East Asia. In the fourth quarter, economic growth in East Asian countries dropped to 7.6%. In China, after the central government took tightened monetary policies, investment started to decrease. In other countries, such economic slowdown mainly resulted from decrease in export, especially export to the United States.

 

The sliding US economy and its decreasing export growth are also the negative forces dragging down the growth of East Asian new economies in 2007, the report predicts.