ISAS Briefs

This is the first of two briefs on the United States’ evolving relations with East Asia – with the region as well as the countries in the area. The first provides the context in which United States President Barack Obama will undertake his first official visit to the region. The second will examine what the American president accomplishes during the visit and what its long-term consequences will be for the relations between these two important parts of the global economy. It should be noted that in preparing for the visit, President Obama consulted with Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s veteran leader, who impressed upon him the importance Washington must give to economics, in particular to trade, in basing its relations with the region. The Obama visit comes at a time when China is leading the world out of what has come to be described as the “Great Recession”. Its fast developing economy is intertwined in several different ways that call for good working relations between Beijing and Washington. These need to be based not on ad hoc exchanges between the two leadership groups but on solid and durable institutional arrangements. What we are seeing is the evolution of G2 at the apex of a new world order.