This month should prove an interesting one for seeing how much people still differ on trade barriers in Asia. This week we had a good deal of confident talk about how barriers could and would be broken down. Get ready for the rebuttal in two weeks' time.
The confidence came from the latest talk shop held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. You can always count on getting an official rosy view of things when Asean ministers meet, in this case a proposal to which they all paid lip service to create a free-trade zone that will include China. Lip service is easy when it will still be many years before lip service can be taken as commitment.
Then we had former United States president George Bush making a speech here on Thursday in which he welcomed regional trading blocs 'popping up' (clumsiness in choice of word runs in the family) and took one step further by saying these blocs should be stepping stones to greater liberalisation of trade.
Someone, however, remembered to keep in mind that the last big World Trade Organisation meeting in Seattle two years ago was a complete flop.
The theme of the Pacific Economic Co-operation Council at its convention here from November 28 to 30 will be how to manage globalisation rather than advocate it.
We can thank council chairman William Fung Kwok-lun for applying this dose of cold water when it is needed. As he points out, there is opposition from developing countries that think globalisation threatens their domestic businesses - 'They are afraid that they are not ready for foreign competition if globalisation goes too fast. In other words it is protectionism.'
Mr Fung is right in thinking that Malaysia in particular will throw a wrench into the works if it can but let us make a distinction here.