US, China both matter for Asia

China's influence over Asia is significant today and growing. But it is by no means the only story in Asia. Perhaps because of China's stellar rise, it is easy to overlook the substantial sway the United States economy still holds over much of Asia.

Concerns over the slower growth trend in China, along with the specter of the US Federal Reserve Board's "tapering" of quantitative easing (QE), has spooked global financial markets in recent months. On the positive side, though, China's government is sticking close to its strategy of ensuring balanced and sustainable growth, and the US economy, helped by gains in the housing and labor markets, is recovering.

China's slowdown is likely to result in some moderation in Asia's near-term growth. But any such short-term sacrifice should benefit China and the rest of the region both in the longer term. Such an outcome would be much more palatable than unabated over-investment in China, which could prove unsustainable and costly for the regional as well as the global economy.