East Asia could do better than other parts of the world as the coronavirus pandemic leaves many major economies virtually frozen, according to David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Mangement.

“I think the overall outlook for East Asia is quite good relative to to other regions of the world … in economic terms and probably in market terms in the second half of 2020,” Kelly told the “Squawk Box” on Thursday.

Global economic activity has plummeted as authorities implement extensive social distancing measures and lockdowns to stem the spread of the disease. But Kelly said places such as South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong have a better chance of “escaping from Covid-19 than Europe and the U.S. does.”

The strategist also said China, where the virus was first reported late last year, is likely to keep reopening its economy as it takes a different approach from the West.

“It may be that while the U.S. and Western countries will shy away from achieving some sort of herd immunity and wait for a vaccine, it could be that China may soldier on with reopening the economy even if there’s some rise in the case load and they will sort of struggle to try and dampen down that growth but not abandon this reopening of the economy,” Kelly said.

Investors have been closely watching data out of China, looking for insight on the magnitude of the disease’s economic impact. The country is set to report its first-quarter GDP on Friday.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect China’s GDP to have fallen 6.5% from last year, a sharp drop from the 6% growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019. That would also be the first quarterly decline since 1992, when China began reporting GDP, according to Reuters.

‘Pretty rough road’ ahead for the US

Kelly also said he expects a “big drop” in second-quarter GDP for the United States, which saw a spike in coronavirus cases and shutdowns beginning in March.

“I think first quarter GDP will now be negative in the U.S., but second quarter GDP could be down 20 to 25% in annualized rate,” Kelly said. “A huge decline.”

While daily new cases in the U.S. have stabilized due to an “extraordinary pattern of social distancing,” the strategist was wary about lifting prevention measures soon.

“If you reopen the country to back to where it was before, the virus will take off again,” he said. “It’s still gonna be a pretty rough road for the United States until there’s a vaccine hopefully in the first half of 2021.”

Kelly projected the U.S. economy is likely to see a U-shaped recession of “a big fall, a big stall and then a big surge in 2021.”

Reporting by Eustance Huang. This article originally posted on CNBC

South Korea has announced an additional death from the novel coronavirus on Tuesday morning, bringing the national death toll to 29, according to the country’s Central Disaster Relief Headquarters.

South Korean toll rises: 600 new infections announced today pushed the East Asian country’s total past 4,800, including 28 deaths — the biggest outbreak outside mainland China. The majority of infections are in the southern city of Daegu.

US cases top 100: There are now more than 100 infections in the United States, with Washington and California the worst affected states. Six patients have died.

WHO on alert: The director general of the World Health Organization has warned that the virus has brought the world into “un-chartered territory.”

The novel coronavirus has killed more than 3,100 people, the vast majority in mainland China. There are over 90,000 global cases, with infections in more than 70 countries and territories.

Asia is the largest continent in the world in terms of both land area and population. Asia can be divided into five geographical subregions. It is divided into 48 countries, three of them are trans-continental.

According to World Atlas, Asia covers around 17 million square miles and is home to over four billion individuals.

1. Western Asia (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia)

West Asia is located in the area between Central Asia and Africa, south of Eastern Europe. The majority of the region is often referred to as the Middle East, although it geographically excludes the mainland of Egypt (which is culturally considered a Middle Eastern country). West Asia is politically divided into 19 states: Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen. It also includes the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. The region covers a total area of around 2.415 million square miles and has a population size of 313.428 million.

A large area of the region is covered by an arid desert environment. However, West Asia does have several points of access to large bodies of water, including the Black Sea, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Caspian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and the Aegean Sea.

2. Southeast Asia (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Lester, Vietnam, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands)

Southeast Asia is located north of Australia, south of East Asia, west of the Pacific Ocean, and east of the Bay of Bengal. It encompasses several island and archipelago nations that stretch between the northern and southern hemispheres, making it the only Asian region located on both sides of the equator. Southeast Asia is politically divided into 15 countries and territories: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands.

Southeast Asia covers a total area of 1,735,121 square miles and has a population size of more than 641 million individuals. The geography of Southeast Asia is characterized by a large number of archipelagos. The Indonesian Archipelago is the biggest in the world and is home to the largest number of active volcanoes in the world. The region’s importance in global trade began during the spice trade, which started before European exploration. Today, the economy of Southeast Asia is rapidly developing. Indonesia is considered the largest economy in the region and is East Asia’s only member of the G20.

3. South Asia (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives)

South Asia has a peninsula-like shape that is bordered by three bodies of water: the Indian Ocean to the south, the Bay of Bengal to the east, and the Arabian Sea to the west. The region includes Indian subcontinent and surrounding countries. South Asia is politically divided into eight autonomous countries: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, and the Maldives. The region covers a total area of roughly two million square miles and has a population size of more than 1.74 billion, which is nearly a quarter of the global population. Additionally, South Asia has the distinction of being the most densely populated area in the world.

4. East Asia (China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau)

East Asia is located east of Central Asia, with its eastern border running along the East China Sea. East Asia is politically divided into eight countries and regions: China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. This region covers a total area of 4,571,092 square miles and has a population size of more than 1.641 billion, which represents 22% of the global population and 38% of Asia’s total population. Many residents of East Asia are concentrated in major metropolitan areas such as Beijing and Tokyo.

The geography of East Asia is varied depending on the zone. The inner continental area experiences a temperate climate, while Mongolia is covered by the arid Gobi desert. China, the largest country in the region, is home to both mountains and plateaus, while Japan is characterized by thousands of islands and coastlines. Today, East Asia is believed to have some of the most advanced technologies in the world, which fosters economic development.

5. Central Asia (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan)

Central Asian Countries is made up of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. @ Worldatlas

Central Asia is west of China, south of Russia, and north of Afghanistan. The western border of this region runs along the Caspian Sea. Central Asia is politically divided into five countries: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Given that the name of each of these countries ends in “-stan,” Central Asia is sometimes informally referred to as “The Stans.” The region covers a total area of 1,545,741 square miles and has a population size of just over 69.78 million individuals. Central Asia played an important role in the transportation of goods between China and Europe during the Silk Road trading era.

This Asian city is not on most people’s radar but the up-and-coming destination is suddenly the spot everyone wants to visit.

IT’S an Asian destination, but it’s not in Indonesia or Thailand. It’s a Chinese city, but it’s not Beijing or Shanghai. And despite its little-known status, it’s the most popular spot for Australian holiday-makers right now.

Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province, is having a massive popularity moment at the moment, according to new data from Kayak.com.au.

The booking agency has looked at emerging destinations that are seeing huge growth in search numbers and Chengdu — despite having an overall popularity ranking for Australian travelers of 130 — has come out on top, with year-on-year growth of 133 per cent.

Chengdu is a city tourists are slowly starting to discover. Picture: iStockSource:istock

It came out ahead of Da Nang in Vietnam (109 per cent growth), Athens in Greece (100 per cent), Male in the Maldives (86 per cent) and Ulan Bator in Mongolia (81 per cent).

Meanwhile, interest in popular Asian spots such as Thailand and Bali have remained about the same.

So what is it about Chengdu that’s drawing so many Australian travellers all of a sudden?

For starters, it’s a big city with a busy night-life and plenty to do, but it has a more relaxed vibe than Beijing or Shanghai.

It’s also considered the panda capital of China — pandas are a big deal in Chengdu. The Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, just outside town and easily accessible to tourists, is a massive research and breeding facility where visitors can get rare access to the vulnerable creatures, and even interact with them.

A giant panda at the breeding and research base, which is easy to access from Chengdu and very tourist friendly. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

Robin Chiang, Kayak’s country head for Asia Pacific, said according to booking statistics Australian travellers were typically spending about 14 days Chengdu.

“It’s no surprise Chengdu has topped this year’s list — this growing economic hub of China is experiencing extraordinary growth and is undoubtedly the up-and-comer in the country’s booming tourism and trade market,” he said.

“Only late last year did Sydney announce a new non-stop flight to Chengdu by Air China’s inaugural Sydney-Chengdu service, and we can partly attribute this news to the increase in the rate of searchings and bookings to this destination.”

Direct flights between Australia and Chengdu started in 2012 with the launch of Sichuan Airline’s Chengdu to Melbourne service, which was touted as a crucial way to increase business, education and tourism links between the two cities.

Chengdu, known as the gateway to China’s far west, offered an array of experiences both for notice and seasoned travellers, Mr Chiang said.

“Located in southwest China, the provincial capital is a hub for flights making it easy for Aussies wishing to continue their travels within the country, and is one of many reasons more and more Aussies are frequenting the area.

Chengdu’s famous Jinli Ancient Street is a great place to get acquainted with its teahouse culture.Source:News Limited

“Travellers will love the city’s relaxing teahouse culture, as well as the lively night-life and delicious spicy food and cuisine-rich culture.

“While Chengdu is witnessing hi-tech start-ups moving in with a growing portfolio of high-end accommodation boutiques, galleries and shopping centres launching, the laid back atmosphere of taking tea and sitting in parklands remains. As such, Chengdu offers the perfect combination for a city stay.”

Aside from the giant panda base, which was a top drawcard for tourists, another highlight was the “Wide and Narrow Alleys” in the Qingyang District, a hub of restaurants and street vendors selling Sichuan cuisine and a favourite for locals and visitors alike.

And there were plenty of historic sites to visit, such as the burial site of Emperor Liu Bei and Wenshu Temple.

Other emerging spots identified in Kayak’s latest report were Thailand’s Krabi, Japan’s Osaka, Cambodia’s Siem Reap, Serbia’s Belgrade and Croatia’s Zagreb.

Mr Chiang said they were great options for people hoping to discover a place that didn’t seem that everyone had been already.

“We often see different groups of friends posting about the same destinations at the same time on social media, but there are many other must-go destinations that are equally Instagram-worthy,” Mr Chiang said.

Kayak also identified the best times to book to travel to those top 10 emerging destinations.

They are:

1. Chengdu, China: 2 months in advance

2. Da Nang, Vietnam: 2 months

3. Athens, Greece: 6 months

4. Male, Maldives: 2 months

5. Ulan Bator, Mongolia: 2 months

6. Krabi, Thailand: 3 months

7. Osaka, Japan: 3 months

8. Siem Reap, Cambodia: 3 months

9. Belgrade, Serbia: 5 months

10. Zagreb, Croatia: 5 months.

By Lauren McMah @ News.au