Developing countries in East Asia Pacific will see slightly slower economic growth this year, but the pace of growth in the region, excluding China, will pick up next year, as the gradual recovery in high-income economies boosts demand for exports from the region, according to the East Asia Pacific Economic Update released today by the World Bank. Still, developing East Asia Pacific remains the fastest-growing region in the world.

Developing East Asia will grow by 6.9% this year and next, down from 7.2% in 2013, the report says. In China, growth will ease slightly to 7.4% this year and 7.2% in 2015, as the government seeks to put the economy on a more sustainable path with policies addressing financial vulnerabilities and structural constraints. Excluding China, growth in developing countries in the region is expected to bottom out at 4.8 percent this year, before rising to 5.3% in 2015, as exports rise and domestic economic reforms advance in the large Southeast Asian economies.

“East Asia Pacific will continue to have the potential to grow at a higher rate – and faster than other developing regions – if policy makers implement an ambitious domestic reform agenda, which includes removing barriers to domestic investment, improving export competitiveness and rationalising public spending,” said Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank East Asia and Pacific Regional Vice President.