Tag: Barack Obama

  • Obama’s missed Asia trip is no disaster—if he follows up strong (new at China-US Focus)

    In my latest piece for China-US Focus, I look at the impact of Obama’s decision to cancel planned travel to Asia and suggest that he can make up for missed opportunities. Obama’s Missed Asia Trip Is No Disaster—If He Follows Up Strong As the financial crisis gripped the United States in September 2008, Senator John McCain “suspended”…


  • Cybersecurity as 'pivot' version two? A policy narrative for media-friendly U.S.–China relations

    Pivot. “I personally don’t like the term,” said Jeffrey Bader, former senior director for East Asia of the U.S. National Security Council. It was an “unfortunate word” selected by staff seeking a positive press response to President Barack Obama’s trip to Asia in 2011, he said at Beijing’s Tsinghua University on Nov. 29, 2012. Each time…


  • Why one might think the US government sees China as threat no. 1

    In recent weeks, a series of U.S. government statements, leaks, and policy changes could leave you with the impression that policymakers see China as the biggest threat to U.S. security. My guess is that even if top officials in the Obama administration believe this, they would rather temper that impression. On the other hand, take…


  • Asia in the State of the Union: Bringing jobs home and—psst!—cybersecurity

    UPDATED at bottom with further comments The State of the Union speech this year was not suited for heavy lifting in foreign policy, and it had almost nothing to say about policy in the Asia-Pacific. According to the prepared speech, President Obama mentioned a push for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, responded to North Korea’s recent nuclear…


  • China News Update, July 5, 2012 – U.S.–China ties, South China Sea

    Today’s news opens with a speech July 5 in Hong Kong by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai, a key figure in Chinese relations with the United States. The speech calls for “building a new type of relationship between major countries here in the Asia-Pacific,” a key Hu Jintao phrase from the Strategic and Economic…