Two-time Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, who recently said he sees a period of “malaise” coming for the U.S. economy, is much more upbeat on Asia’s economies.

“Asia’s recovery has been remarkable,” Stiglitz said at a conference in Bangkok, Voice of America reports. “People are talking about a ‘V’ shaped recovery. The big issue that it raises is can Asia decouple from the West — the U.S. and Europe? You have a robust large economy here in Asia and so you have the basis of developing a regional economy.”

“Stiglitz says Asia’s economies are in a good position to reduce their dependence on exporting goods to the United States and Europe,” VOA reports, adding that he was “upbeat over the economic outlook for the region.”

Stiglitz had more harsh words for the U.S. government, criticizing the bank bailout plan and saying that the deregulation of the financial system led to many problems. He also advocated shifting away from using the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, saying that it is “not a good store of value” due to high public debt and America’s uncertain economic outlook.