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		</div><p>China&#8217;s slowing growth, Brexit woes and US-China trade disputes pose risks to the world economy, Japan&#8217;s prime minister has said.</p>
<p>Shinzo Abe also criticized the World Trade Organization as &#8220;behind the curve&#8221; and in need of reform to help ease trade tensions as he spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.</p>
<p>Mr Abe used his return to Davos after five years to hail the benefits of two &#8220;mega deals&#8221; in trade &#8211; on the Pacific Rim and between Japan and the European Union &#8211; at a time when populism and isolationism have elbowed in on an era of globalism.</p>
<p><em>&#8220;The world economy is gradually and moderately improving. I think without a doubt this is taking place,&#8221;</em> he said.</p>
<p><em>&#8220;Worldwide, however, there are risks. US-China trade friction is one of those risks and Japan traditionally has said tit-for-tat trade-restrictive measures are of no benefit.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>Mr Abe said the WTO needs to be changed, calling for a trading system that protects intellectual property rights.</p>
<p>That was a veiled reference to China, which the Trump administration and others say is cheating on trade rules and stealing intellectual property from Western companies.</p>
<p><em>&#8220;Major changes are taking place and the WTO is behind the curve &#8211; it&#8217;s not keeping up with pace,&#8221;</em> Mr Abe said in a brief question-and-answer session with the forum&#8217;s chief.</p>
<p><em>&#8220;We have to make the WTO into a more credible existence. We need to reform it.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>Mr Abe&#8217;s appearance and a later speech by Germany&#8217;s Angela Merkel were shaping up as a one-two punch by major leaders in favor of global co-operation.</p>
<p>A day earlier, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and US secretary of state Mike Pompeo extolled their governments&#8217; renewed focus on national self-interest.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, several other leaders &#8211; such as those of the United States, Britain and France &#8211; decided not to travel to Davos to deal with political troubles back home, including the US government shutdown, Brexit and popular protests.</p>
<p>China was set to get its say, too &#8211; and possibly retort against Western complaints about its trade policies.</p>
<p>Vice president Wang Qishan was set to speak on the second day of the elite Davos gathering.</p>
<p>Away from the Swiss slopes, efforts were looming to defuse the US-China tensions on trade.</p>
<p>A high-level Chinese delegation is expected to visit Washington on January 30, as the two sides seek to strike an accord to end their conflict.</p>
<p>However, Hong Kong&#8217;s Beijing-backed chief executive said she is &#8220;quite worried&#8221; that the rules-based system that has governed global trade for decades is under threat.</p>
<p>Carrie Lam said any erosion of traditional rules could lead to rising political tensions.</p>
<p>Worries over the future of the rules governing global trade have been stoked over the past few years, particularly since the election of US President Donald Trump.</p>
<p>His administration has taken umbrage against China and the two countries have imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions worth of traded goods, igniting a trade war that could seriously hinder the global economy.</p>
<p>Mrs Merkel, meanwhile, was to address the gathering amid growing uncertainty in Europe over Brexit after British MPs last week voted down Prime Minister Theresa May&#8217;s deal with the European Union.</p>
<p>Since then, speculation has risen that Britain could crash out of the bloc without a deal or end up extending its date of departure from the current March 29.</p>
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