TEXT OF STORY

Scott Jagow:

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was in Beijing today. He met with his new Chinese counterpart to talk about trade, energy and the environment. As you know, China’s economy has been growing by leaps and bounds. But some economists think, this year, China won’t be jumping as high. Americans aren’t buying as many Chinese products. Lisa Chow reports from Beijing.

Lisa Chow:

If you live in China, you’re paying 20 percent more for food than you were a year ago. Your stock portfolio has lost nearly half of its value since the beginning of this year. And if you’re involved in any kind of business that exports goods to the U.S., you’re probably scrambling to find other buyers in Europe and Japan.

But don’t worry too much. That was the message today from the Asian Development Bank. Its analysts predict China’s economy will still grow 10 percent this year, down from 11.4 percent in 2007. They say China’s central bank will continue to raise interest rates this year. And it will let its currency, the yuan, appreciate at a faster pace against the dollar.
Why the optimism? Because unlike the U.S., Chinese consumer confidence is still strong.

In Beijing, I’m Lisa Chow, for Marketplace.