Thailand and Taiwan have benefited from China's recovery to record unexpectedly strong economic growth in the final quarter of 2009.

Taiwan returned to pre- financial crisis growth levels with its strongest performance in more than five years, according to government statistics released yesterday. Gross domestic product grew 9.2 per cent from a year ago, and 4.2 per cent from the previous quarter, outperforming most Asian economies that have reported GDP figures for the same period.

In spite of the strong recovery in the second half of the year, Taiwan's economy still shrank by 1.8 per cent in 2009. The government expects GDP to grow by 4.7 per cent this year.

The Thai economy, the second largest in south-east Asia, showed year-on-year growth of 5.8 per cent, ending four straight quarters of decline. Although the economy contracted 2.7 per cent for the full year, the result was better than economists had previously forecast.

While China has led the region's recovery, booking 10.7 per cent growth in the fourth quarter, the rebound is not entirely dependent on the country. South Korea, which grew 6 per cent in the final quarter of last year, and Indonesia, which expanded by 5.4 per cent, also benefited from recovering domestic consumer demand.

China features prominently in the recovery of the export-orientated economies of Taiwan and Thailand. Taiwanese exports to China, its biggest trading partner, rose 45 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter. China's domestic market has also become an important market for Taiwan. Exports for final consumption in China have grown from 17.8 per cent of Taiwan's total exports at the beginning of 2009 to 29.2 per cent last month.

This trend is echoed in Thailand, where January's exports to China grew 94 per cent year-on-year. The recovery was supported by renewed demand for electronics and rubber – the latter an indication of a recovery in automotive demand in China.