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BEIJING : British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged developing nations on Monday to refrain from protectionism, warning it could derail global recovery from the financial meltdown.
"It is... essential that those with an interest in open trade create a bulwark against protectionism," he said in a speech in Shanghai on the first full day of a visit to China.
"It is worrying that we are seeing more reports of foreign investors in emerging economies encountering new barriers to investment," he said.
"This not only increases protectionist pressures in Europe and the US. It also deprives China and other emerging economies of cutting edge technologies which in turn raises their own competitiveness."
China has been vocal in its opposition to protectionism, but its Western trading partners have in the past accused it of making it difficult for foreign companies to operate in the country.
The value of the Chinese currency, which has effectively been pegged to the US dollar since mid-2008, has been a particular bone of contention between Beijing and Western nations, which say it is kept low to boost exports.
Still, foreign direct investment in China rose nearly five percent to 14 billion dollars in the first two months of the year, in a sign of growing investor confidence in the world's third largest economy.
Miliband's visit comes amid strained ties between Beijing and London over climate change talks and China's execution of a Briton for drug smuggling.
He is due to hold talks on Tuesday with Chinese leaders including Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi which will focus on Iran's controversial nuclear drive.
- AFP/vm
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