Impact of SARS on long-term growth in China and East Asia to be minimal

THE outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in the region will have minimal impact on the long-term growth prospects of China and the East Asian region, a China expert said in an interview yesterday.  

Geng Xiao, deputy director of the Institute for China and Global Development at the University of Hong Kong, said the SARS outbreak, which hit China and Hong Kong harder than other countries in the region, was a “typical short-term shock.”