Speaking to a business lunch in Hong Kong, Blair reaffirmed his faith in free markets and said a retreat from world trade would be a delusion, making clear he wanted Britain to compete in a global economy rather than retreating into isolation.
Narrow nationalism lives a lie.
It pretends to offer national strength but is in reality the enemy of national progress. Blair flew in after a visit to Beijing and Shanghai in which, he told his audience, Chinese leaders told him relations with Britain would be reinforced by a strong British position in Europe. Blair's attack coincided with renewed tensions in Conservative ranks between the majority, increasingly hostile to European integration, and a pro-European minority marginalised by an internal party ballot this week on policy towards the single currency. Back on the European stage' British public opinion is skeptical about the idea of Britain joining the euro and most newspapers are opposed, while Blair wants to keep his government's options open. In his Hong Kong speech, he reaffirmed that any decision on joining the euro, which will be launched by 11 other European Union states on January 1 next year, would be taken in the national economic interest.