© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Director of the National Economic Council Lael Brainard speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 27, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China’s lackluster economic recovery has not had a particularly strong effect on the U.S. economy given diversification of supply chains over the past years, White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard said on Monday.
Brainard told an event hosted by the Brookings Institution that other countries in Asia and those more closely linked to China’s development were feeling the impact more strongly.
The world’s second-largest economy grew 5.2% in 2023, reflecting feeble post-pandemic growth amid a deepening property crisis, weak consumer and business confidence, mounting local government debt and persistent deflationary risks.
“The U.S. economy really has been diversifying over the last few years and you can see that in a variety of different data, and so for the U.S. economy…. the sort of more lackluster recovery in China has not been a particularly strong channel or effect on the U.S. economy,” she said.
Shares in Hong Kong and China slumped on Monday, as foreign outflows and a surge in short selling pummeled confidence already hurt by the region’s creaking economy.
China’s bluechip CSI300 Index dropped 1.6% to its lowest closing level in nearly five years.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark tumbled 2.3% to its lowest level in 14 months, with investors dumping property and tech shares.
