The "China factor" is both a crisis and an opportunity for the region. It's a crisis because Asian economies desperately need the foreign investment and trade that create wealth in the age of globalization. It's an opportunity because China may shake the region out of complacency.
Still, the process will be neither pretty nor smooth. Says Andy Xie, Hong Kong-based chief Asian economist at Morgan Stanley: "Integrating China into the global economy is the greatest challenge for the world in this century."
If this year has been any guide, that challenge will unfold sooner rather than later.
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