Realistic Expectations

  2009/12/1 source：

 U.S. President Obama visited East Asia when global power gravity is continuously shifting to the East and regional cooperation in East Asia is continuously progressing thanks to the global financial crisis though.

Obama visited Japan and Korea, America’s traditional allies in the region, ASEAN, the regional bloc under transformation, and China, the merging power. Obama embraced three goals: deepening the relations between the United States and the region, enhancing U.S. competitive advantages in the region, and maintaining U.S. leadership.

To the United States, on the one hand, China began to play a central role in this region; America’s traditional allies in the Asia-Pacific, such as Japan and Australia, have brought up new ideas of regional cooperation and tried to influence the direction of future regional cooperation. Thus the Obama administration feels a little “pressure.” On the other hand, facing the problem of how to further stabilize global economy and deal with global challenges of non-proliferation, terrorism, climate change, and energy security, the United States has been increasingly relying on East Asia, which has become an important part of America’s new “multi-partner” strategy. Hence, the United States wants to balance among achieving its strategic goals, improving bilateral relations with countries in this region, and expanding U.S. interests, including economic interests, in the region.

Meanwhile, we should notice that the prospects of Obama’s new deal of “change” at home are still unclear, and domestic trade protectionism is on the rise. As the mid-term election next year is approaching, domestic political struggle is getting more serious, which curbs Obama’s diplomatic aspiration. As to whether Obama will achieve his goals as planned by virtue of his East Asia travel, people are different in their expectations, though they are in common in their realistic attitude.