There has been much talk about Asia’s rising middle class and the development of a new model based on domestic consumption. So far that is all it has been: talk. The plain fact is – the dazzling retail emporia of Asia’s up-and-coming cities aside – the region has become more, not less, dependent on foreign demand.

A decade ago, when Asia was in the midst of its home-grown crisis, exports accounted for 37 per cent of regional output. Partly in reaction to that shock, which exposed an over-reliance on flows of foreign capital, economies ramped up their production of manufactured goods. A decade later, overseas shipments accounted for 47 per cent of output.