President Clinton's address to the World Economic Forum in Davos - the first ever by an American president - was notable more for its tone than its content.

It came two months after the Seattle world trade talks debacle, which shocked the industrialised world into appreciating that many people view globalisation as a rich nation conspiracy to exploit the poor.

In Davos, Mr Clinton was at pains to stress to his audience of the political and economic elite that they should take seriously the voices of dissent.

He told them he did not agree with those who viewed with contempt the new voices seeking to be heard in the global dialogue.

He said those voices needed a forum to express their views on environmental, labour and social issues.

But on the controversial point of whether that forum was the World Trade Organisation (WTO), he remained diplomatically silent.

The developing countries strongly oppose bringing labour conditions into the WTO agenda - as urged in Seattle - seeing it as a guise to protect Western markets from their cheap goods.

Mr Clinton's speech was in effect a resounding endorsement of the WTO and its free-trade policies.

Trade and prosper

The idea that the world would be better off without rules-based trade agreements is in his words "dead wrong".

Developing nations, he argued, who had opened up their markets had seen growth levels at six times those of countries who had put up protectionist barriers.

They could not, however, rely on trade pacts and needed to invest in education and health to ensure long-term prosperity.

They would also benefit from the start of a new global trade round, which he said should be launched as soon as possible.

That surprised many observers, who had thought after the failure in Seattle to get any agreement even on the agenda for new talks there would be no movement until a new US administation came in.

But according to James Hoge - editor of the US bi-monthly magazine, Foreign Affairs - the liberalisation of world trade has been Mr Clinton's big success story.

He says that with an eye on how history will remember his presidency, Mr Clinton would like to see talks at least get under way.

China question

Mr Clinton's strong support for China to become a member of the WTO can also be seen in the same light.

The president would dearly love to crown his term in office with China's accession.

With a further eye on Congress, who have to approve any deal the US does to get Beijing in, Clinton said it would be a mistake of monumental proportions not to have China join.

There are though, as he acknowledged, risks involved. Once in, China could renege on its pleges to open its markets, putting up protectionist barriers.

And of course, there is no guarantee that Beijing will improve its human-rights record as the trade-off for membership.

Mr Clinton's visit to Davos may have been historic. His speech certainly was not. But he did at least acknowledge that free trade alone would not cure the world's problems.

The agenda is now much more broad-ranging, including the environment, workers' rights, education and health.

Or, in the jargon that is so prevalent here in Davos, Mr Clinton has opened a new paradigm for the new economy.