China's growth still on track despite Sars

The Sars outbreak has severely impacted sentiment in Asia this year although recent news is encouraging. Both China and Hong Kong were on course to achieve strong and sustainable performance. Last year, China's exports grew 22% which greatly contributed to GDP growth of 8%. The country's appetite for imported commodities such as steel, iron ore and oil is growing. This is benefiting other Asian producers and inter-regional trade is 40% of the region's total trade. In the first quarter of 2003, China's GDP grew by 9.5% and exports are still extremely strong. Therefore, while the long-term...