11:48 | Lima, Jul. 31 (ANDINA).
Peru is one of the 16 countries in the world that are poised to succeed China as the global driver of manufacturing growth, according to a report by leading geopolitical intelligence firm Stratfor.
The group, named the 'PC16' or 'the Post-China 16' by the US-based think tank, includes countries as disparate as Ethiopia, Cambodia and Mexico.
Following years of progression, China's growth has started to slow as the economy rebalances away from exports and investment towards greater domestic consumption, website yourmoney.com reported.
The report said the era of Chinese development - predicated on low wages to conquer global markets - is ending because there are now other nations with even lower wages and other advantages such as political stability and demographics.
George Friedman, founder and chairman of Stratfor, said no single country can replace China as its size is staggering. He said its successors will not be one country but several, most at roughly the same stage of development.
The PC16 countries are Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru.
"Many of these countries might seem like long-shots but consider Japan's meteoric rise after World War II or China's after decades of Maoist chaos." George Friedman explained. "If I would have told you in 1975 that China would be the second largest economy in the world by the turn of the century, you'd have thought I was insane."
(END) INT/EEP
Published: 7/31/2013