After the Olympic boost

Posted by Scriptaty | 6:11 AM

Investment dollars are being poured into massive infrastructure projects ahead of the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. This includes everything from upgrading hotels and tourist facilities to new restaurants and small entrepreneurial business ventures aimed at capturing tourist dollars.

Economists say growth should continue unfettered through opening ceremonies in 2008, barring any unexpected breakdown in the overall economic picture.

“The Olympics could be a corrective trigger,” Buskas says. “Once the Olympics are over, a major source of growth will be over.”

Others, however, point to the huge role the U.S. plays as a consumer of Chinese-made goods.

“A slowdown in China is contingent on what happens in the U.S.,” Singh says.

He feels an “orderly” decline in the U.S. housing market could contribute to an orderly economic slowdown in China.

Given the intertwined nature of global economies, what happens to China will ultimately impact other countries in the region as well.

“If something happens to China, it will have an impact on all of East Asia. China is the spider in the middle of the web,” Singh says.

yarbear

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