Now that westerners are busily building up their depleted savings, can export-dependent Asian economies adjust to a world in which the US consumer is no longer the buyer of last resort?

Economists are asking whether countries like China will be able to reorient their economies so that domestic demand becomes the main driver of growth. "China should produce things for itself instead of acquiring sterile claims on the US," says Paul Krugman, Nobel economist, referring to the $2,000bn (€1,430bn, £1,255bn) in foreign assets, including US Treasury bonds, accumulated by Beijing.