Mubasher: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned Asian economies are facing elevated risks to their growth outlooks, against the backdrop of the US-Sino trade tensions and faltering Chinese demand, Reuters reported.

The IMF slashed its economic growth forecast for the Asia-Pacific, the world’s fastest-expanding region, to 5% this year and 5.1% next.

This was the weakest growth pace since the 2009 global financial crisis.

“Headwinds from global policy uncertainty and growth deceleration in major trading partners are taking a toll on manufacturing, investment, trade, and growth,” the fund’s Asia and Pacific department director Changyong Rhee was quoted by Reuters.

Earlier in the day, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that China’s growth saw another slowdown in the third quarter, hitting the slowest pace since 1992.

A faster-than-expected slowdown in the Chinese economy could also lead to negative spillovers in the broader region, with many Asian nations having their supply chains exposed to the world’s second leading economy, Rhee said.

The IMF lowered China’s growth projection to 6.1% for this year and 5.8% for next, citing the hit from the trade conflict with the US and more regulatory restrictions to address swelling debt.