Mahathir warns West not to impose trade rules<\/p>\n
TOKYO (AP): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has
\nwarned Western nations leading the World Trade Organization not
\nto impose their principles of free trade on Asian nations.<\/p>\n
Speaking to students at Tokyo's Waseda University Thursday,
\nMahathir said such pressures from the West are already causing
\nbitterness among China and Southeast Asian countries, and could
\nlead to confrontations.<\/p>\n
\"The carping criticisms of human rights records and
\nenvironmental pollution or destruction and the linking of these
\nwith trade will be much resented,\" the prime minister said in a
\nspeech.<\/p>\n
Developing countries in the region have resisted attempts by
\nthe West to link labor standards or human rights to trade,
\naccusing Europe and the United States of simply trying to keep
\ncheaper eastern goods out of their markets.<\/p>\n
Some countries also fear that the West is using the principle
\nof free trade to penetrate their markets before the weaker
\neconomies have a chance to develop their own industries.<\/p>\n
The prime minister predicted that East Asia will continue to
\ngrow rapidly over the coming years, with emerging economies of
\nthe region quickly gaining on Japan.<\/p>\n
\"There can be no stopping the emergence of East Asia as an
\neconomic powerhouse of the same stature as the European Union or
\nNAFTA in the 21st century,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meantime, China will become a major economic power in the
\nregion, but the rest of Asia shouldn't be antagonistic against
\nthe country, Mahathir said.<\/p>\n
\"The combined size and wealth of the other Northeast Asian
\ncountries together with the Southeast Asian countries can easily
\nbalance that of China,\" he said.<\/p>",
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