A failure to move towards further liberalisation of the multilateral trading system at this week?s ministerial conference in Hong Kong would encourage yet more bilateral trade deals to the detriment of global business and small trading nations, Victor Fung, a prominent business advocate of multilateralism, said Wednesday.

?Failure will give momentum to those who say the multilateral system doesn?t work,? said Mr Fung. ?The first phenomenon will be that everyone is going to rush to do a bilateral with the US. China I think will also be besieged. But how about all the smaller countries? Hong Kong is all right, and close to China. But others will be left out in the cold.?