Look, you guys have grown up: Obama to China

New York, Jan 20: Considering China's economic growth in South Asia as "almost inevitable", US President Barack Obama has pressed for international set of rules to be common for all the rising economies in the region.

"And what we've tried to say to them (China) very clearly is, Look, you guys have grown up. You're already the most populous country on earth, depending on how you measure it, the largest or next-largest economy in the world and will soon be the largest economy, almost inevitably," Obama said in an interview to TIME magazine.

Sending out a clear signal that America will continue to be a Pacific power, Obama insisted that "as a principle in that region is, everybody's got to play by the same set of rules, everybody's got to abide by a set of international norms.

And that's not unique to China. That's true for all of us." "You are rapidly consuming more resources than anybody else. And in that context, whether it's maritime issues or trade issues, you can't do whatever you think is best for you. You've got to play by the same rules as everybody else," he added.

PTI