Bankers and consultants have long touted the opportunities of emerging Asia’s rapidly expanding middle classes to their clients. As incomes have risen, foreign direct investment has duly flooded in, fuelling further growth. But in recent years, the momentum behind the Asian consumer has been slowing. The dual economic shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which pushed up food and energy prices, hit households’ disposable incomes. Distressed borrowing and a dearth of well-paying jobs hindered the recovery. The White House’s aggressive protectionist agenda will be yet another setback for the region’s export-orientated industrial economies.
長期以來，銀行家和咨詢師一直向他們的客戶吹噓亞洲新興國家快速壯大的中產階層所帶來的機會。隨著收入上升，外國直接投資自然大量涌入，推動了進一步的增長。但最近幾年，支撐著亞洲消費者的那些因素已在放緩。新冠疫情與俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭（推高了食品和能源價格）的雙重經濟沖擊重創了家庭的可支配收入。不良債務以及高薪職位的稀缺則阻礙了復蘇。白宮的激進保護主義議程將對亞洲出口導向型的工業經濟體造成又一次打擊。