China's economic recovery set to benefit Asean countries

A ship unloaded 565 tons of dragon fruit imported from Vietnam at the Dalian container terminal in Dalian, Liaoning province, on April 27. In the first quarter of 2020, Asean replaced the EU as China's largest trading partner, accounting for 15.1% of the nation's global trade volume during the period. - China Daily/ANN

BEIJING/HONG KONG: China's economic recovery is set to benefit member states of the Association of South-East Asian Nations, even amid continuing uncertainty over Covid-19 (coronavirus), a leading Asian economist said.

"China is an important economic partner of Asean, and at a time when the developed economies are suffering from a sharp downturn, China is the only large source of demand that could still be growing," said Manu Bhaskaran, founding director and CEO of Centennial Asia Advisors, an economic consultancy in Singapore.