The slowdown in China's economy, the world's second largest, is sucking the growth out of North Asia and tilting some economies toward recession.

As China undergoes a painful rebalancing of an economy that accounts for 16 percent of global GDP — up from below a tenth a decade ago — the International Monetary Fund predicts 5.5 percent growth this year for a region that also includes export powerhouses Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

That would be the weakest growth rate since the global financial crisis.