The struggles in China’s real-estate industry and weak Chinese domestic demand pose a risk to the Japanese and global economies, Japan’s new economy minister says.

Yoshitaka Shindo, who assumed the cabinet post earlier this month, said that because China accounts for nearly a fifth of Japan’s exports, the Chinese economic troubles could cause Japan’s economy to move a notch downward.

Potentially, “the impact is really big” given China’s central role in the global economy, Shindo said in a group interview with Tokyo-based reporters. He observed that foreign investment in China has dropped sharply and real-estate companies there have fallen into trouble, leading to a sluggish recovery of the Chinese economy.

www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202309292040/japans-economy-minister-warns-of-risk-from-chinas-real-estate-troubles