Clinton says US economic model works despite woes

HONG KONG (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
is in Hong Kong to extol the virtues of American financial policies and
values despite the currently poor state of the economy and the
stalemate over the national debt. In a speech Monday to the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce here, Clinton will appeal to China and other Asian
nations not to lose faith in the American model. U.S. officials say she
will assure her audience that a deal on the debt will be reached and
remind it that the United States has recovered from economic crises
before. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the
speech. Clinton's comments come as world financial markets warily
watch developments in Washington, where the White House and Congress
remain deadlocked in a fiercely partisan debate over increasing the debt
ceiling ahead of an Aug. 2 deadline to avoid an unprecedented default.
China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, is particularly
concerned. In her speech, Clinton will acknowledge America's
current problems but remind her audience of the resilience of the United
States and stress that the country has recovered from previous economic
crises, the officials said. She will urge Asia to embrace open,
transparent and fair economic policies that have propelled growth in the
past, they said. Clinton will call on nations around the world
to play by those same rules, the officials said. Countries that prosper
from the international economic system should not be allowed to subvert
it, she will say. They must end protectionism and ease other trade
barriers as well as combat corruption and defend intellectual property
rights, Clinton will say, according to the officials. Her speech
in Hong Kong is being delivered at the tail end of a 12-day,
around-the-world diplomatic tour that began in Europe but has focused on
Asia for the past week. Clinton arrived in this former British colony
late Sunday after three days in Bali, Indonesia, where she attended a
regional security forum at which North Korea and tensions in the South
China Sea topped the agenda. Before Monday's address, Clinton met
with senior officials from Hong Kong's government. Afterward, she will
drive to Shenzhen in southern mainland China for talks with Chinese
State Councilor Dai Bingguo. Clinton will return to Washington later
Monday.