Interview : IMF official says Asia resilience driven by muted energy shock , AI boom

BANGKOK, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Asia is showing resilience in economic growth, driven by muted energy shock and artificial intelligence (AI) boom, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official has said. "For China, and for the (Asia) region overall, we see resilience," Thomas Helbling, deputy director in the IMF's Asia and Pacific department, told Xinhua in an interview during the 2026 Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group held in Bangkok. In its latest Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific released on Thursday, the IMF raised Asia's 2026 economic growth forecast to 4. 8 percent, up 0. 4 percentage points from its April projection. China's growth for 2026 was projected at 4. 5 percent, 0. 1 percentage point higher than the April forecast.