President Obama in China

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In The Media

President Obama in China

Despite a lack of concrete deliverables, President Obama’s trip to Asia still accomplished the important objective of showing China that the United States is serious about engaging the region and remaining a Pacific power.

By Minxin Pei

Published on Nov 17, 2009

Source: The Diane Rehm Show

During his nine-day tour of Asia, President Obama met with Chinese President Hu Jintao to seek common ground on critical issues. The two leaders exchanged views on a wide range of topics on the bilateral agenda, including trade, climate change, human rights, nuclear weapons and U.S. debt.

In a panel discussion on NPR’s The Diane Rehm Show, Minxin Pei assesses President Obama’s trip to China, highlighting some of the opportunities and challenges of the meeting. Pei expected Iran to be a key concern in the discussions, as the recent deal between the United States and Russia has left China diplomatically isolated in refusing to impose sanctions. On the issue of North Korea, Pei also cautioned against expecting a breakthrough in discussions between Obama and Hu, noting that the Chinese president does not enjoy autonomy in his policy decision-making and must confer with the collective leadership of the 9-member Politburo standing committee. Despite a lack of concrete deliverables, Obama’s trip still accomplished at least one important objective of showing China - and all of Asia - that the United States is serious about engaging the region and remaining a Pacific power.

About the Author

Minxin Pei

Former Adjunct Senior Associate, Asia Program

Pei is Tom and Margot Pritzker ‘72 Professor of Government and the director of the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies at Claremont McKenna College.

Recent Work

In The Media
How China Can Avoid the Next Conflict
- Minxin Pei
In The Media
Small Change
- Minxin Pei

Foreign Policy North America United States East Asia China

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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