ABSTRACT
East Asian countries are playing increasingly significant roles both in international trade and in the determination of the rules of the international trade regime. 1 Double-digit annual rates of economic growth sustained for more than two decades in China have transformed its economy into the 'workshop of the world'. By the turn of the century, China was set to become the world's fifth largest exporter (in fact, if China's exports through Hong Kong are included, it is already the world's third largest exporter after the USA and Germany). Despite the setbacks of the financial crises of 1997-1998, most other East Asian economies continue to grow more rapidly than less developed economies in other parts of the world. Korean exports are now 50 per cent above those of Russia; the value of Malaysian exports exceeds those of Switzerland or Sweden; Thailand exports more than Australia or Brazil (WTO 2003).
