Asia is slowing down. Growth will struggle to top 4 percent in 2022, with China growing at under 3 percent. Given that China has been the most powerful locomotive of Asian growth in recent decades, the implications of this are highly significant, not least for the world economy. Most explanations for the slowdown have focused on short-run pressures from China’s zero-Covid policy and the unfolding fall in real estate values. The implications for financial and government institutions’ balan