Some Europeans felt slighted when the US president Barack Obama chose not to attend the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. But Mr Obama had a reason. With limited time and attention, he is more interested in trying to shape geopolitics where it will matter most in the 21st century – and that means Asia.
The past two weeks have been dedicated to navigating its complex economic and political dynamics, with the long-term impact of the rise of China on everyone’s mind. Days after returning to Washington from a week-long visit that took him to China, Japan and South Korea, Mr Obama welcomed the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh.
Mr Singh, who was treated yesterday to the considerable honour of being special guest at the first White House black-tie dinner of the Obama era, will communicate the concern that Asian politics could soon be determined by a US-Chinese consensus that would relegate his country to second rank. The fear that a resource-hungry, mercantilistic and anti-status quo Chinese bully could dictate Asia’s future is pushing some Asian states to turn to Washington to contain growing Chinese influence.
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