Economic centre of gravity has moved to East Asia, former VP of World Bank tells WION Global Summit

The centre of gravity of global economy has moved more towards East Asia during coronavirus pandemic, said Ian Goldin, former Vice President of the World Bank.

Goldin, who is now at the University of Oxford, was speaking at WION Global Summit in Dubai at the session titled World Economy: The Price of the Pandemic, moderated by journalist Ali Aslan. 

Aslan pointed out that China was the only major economy to grow in spite of being the one where coronavirus originated.

Goldin said that the Chinese leadership had done a "remarkable" job in containing the virus. China was the "economic engine of growth", he said, while underlining that China's role in the unfolding situation now was similar to the aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis.

"Its export stats have been robust and its market share has increased during the pandemic as other producers have closed down," he said.

Once the worst-affected country, China appeared to have rapidly reduced the number of infections as 2020 progressed. Goldin said that the Chinese population has been very effective in managing the pandemic with use of masks and the implementation of other measures.

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"So yes, the economic centre of global gravity is moving more rapidly than it would've towards East Asia," he concluded.

Asked whether he thought any particular economic system was doing well, Goldin opined that there was no simple answer. However, he mentioned that some smaller countries haves surprisingly done well while those like US and UK have done "terribly".

"...[Maybe] more powerful you are, more arrogant you are," he quipped.