KINGSTON, Jamaica - THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that by 2017 China will be the largest economy in the world, but it is not yet a developed country. If and when it achieves that status, it will represent a remarkable and unprecedented development in the world economy. Developing countries are now responsible for over half of global economic growth, according to a report released in October by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. This is forecasted to be a continuing trend, with Asian developing economies, led by China, contributing 55 per cent of global growth by 2016. The growing importance of developing countries is evident in international trade and cross-border investment flows. Since the mid-1980s, developing countries' share of global exports has increased from less than 10 per cent to nearly 40 per cent. Correspondingly, developed countries' share has declined from 60 per cent to 40 per cent. This trend is likely to continue, given the changes in world trade over the last 20 years.