Asian economies buoyed by Chinese economy

Led by China’s strong performance, growth in the East Asia-Pacific region will top 7% this year – more than three points higher than in 2001 – with fewer people than ever living in extreme poverty, the World Bank said today.

The remarkable growth has brought the number of people living on $2 or less a day down to 636 million, or about a third of the population – as compared with nearly 890 million five years ago, the World Bank said in its biannual economic outlook for the region.