RECENT POSTS
- Under the Stars, Obama Toasts India’s Prime Minister
- White House State Dinner – Who Made the Exclusive Guest List?
- Admiral Mike Mullen To Geneva for START Talks
- VP Biden to Indian Prime Minister: “You’re the Hottest Ticket in Town”
- FLOTUS on the State Dinner: Like a Swan, "Calm and Serene Above Water, But We're Paddling Like Mad, Going Crazy Underneath"
- White House State Dinner: The Menu, Entertainment, and Decor
- Dan Pfeiffer, White House Blogger
- Guests Begin to Arrive for White House State Dinner Festivities
- President Obama on Afghanistan Strategy: “It Is My Intention to Finish the Job”
- The Obamas Kick off their First State Visit, Welcome India's Prime Minister to the White House
MONTHLY ARCHIVES
« Previous | Main | Next »
President Obama Heads to Asia: Trade, North Korea, Global Security to be the Focus
November 09, 2009 9:51 PM
ABC News’ Yunji de Nies reports:
When President Obama heads to Asia later this week, he goes with a wide-ranging agenda. White House officials said today the administration hopes to reach common ground with a number leaders on strengthening alliances, trade, the war in Afghanistan, nuclear non-proliferation, how to deal with Iran and North Korea, and energy/climate issues.
The president will visit Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea. He’ll meet with the leaders of all four nations, and several others as he attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) and becomes the first U.S. president to hold a multi-lateral meeting with all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“The overarching theme is that America is a Pacific nation, it understands the importance of Asia in the 21st century, and it's going to be very engaged in a very comprehensive way to make progress on a whole series of issues that are critical for our prosperity and our security,” Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, told reporters.
The trip is Obama’s first to the region as president and is particularly important when it comes to trade.
“Right now, 1.6 million jobs in the United States are associated with exports to Asia. And as the Asian region grows, we could see hundreds of thousands of more jobs being created there as well,” said Jeffrey Bader, National Security Council Senior Director for East Asian Affairs.
The president leaves on Thursday and will stop in Alaska to meet briefly with troops at Elmendorf Air Force Base, before arriving in Tokyo on Friday. There, he is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Hatoyama, before the two hold a joint press conference.
The next day, the president plans to deliver a speech, in which Rhodes says Obama will “discuss his view of American engagement in Asia as it relates to the political, security and economic dimensions, and to also reaffirm the strength of the U.S.-Japanese alliance.” Before leaving Japan, the White House said, Obama will also meet with the emperor and empress.
Obama then heads to Singapore, where his agenda includes a meeting with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the APEC summit. At APEC, the White House says the President will follow up on commitments made at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, and further promote growth in the Asia Pacific region.
“This is the fastest-growing region in the world. It's expected to grow by over 7 percent next year,” Bader said. “It already takes about a quarter of our exports, and those exports are expected to increase as the region grows and as they pursue balanced growth as the region becomes more open to our exports. And so we see a lot of jobs being created through our engagement in Asia.”
Obama also has scheduled separate bilateral meetings with the presidents of Russia and Indonesia, before leaving Singapore to start the week in China.
The president first stops in Shanghai, where he’ll meet the mayor and host a town-hall style meeting with Chinese youth, the White House said. The details of the event are still being worked out, but the president plans to take questions from the audience.
“He certainly looks forward to this opportunity and felt that it was important given the deepening engagement not just between the U.S. and Chinese governments, but really among the American and Chinese people, that he take an opportunity, as he has in other countries, to engage young people in a dialogue about the future of this relationship,” Rhodes said.
Obama then moves on to Beijing, where he will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao. After their meeting, the two leaders will hold a joint press conference. Administration officials expect the economy, nonproliferation, the Six Party talks, energy/climate issues and human rights (including Tibet) will all be discussed. China will also host a state dinner for the president’s visit.
The following day, Wednesday, will be the President’s last in China. He’ll meet with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, before leaving for South Korea.
In Seoul, the president will meet with President Lee Myung-Bak and the focus will again be wide ranging, though issues of trade, North Korea and Afghanistan are expected to be front and center.
“North Korea obviously will be a principal focus of this stop,” Rhodes said, “We'll be talking about how we reengage in the six-party process with the agenda of denuclearization and reaffirmation of previous commitments.”
The president will also visit U.S. troops stationed in South Korea before heading back to Washington on Thursday.
November 9, 2009 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (19)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
Three times as many czars as the previous administration
Posted by: Visualize Whirled Peas | Nov 10, 2009 10:13:56 AM
_________________________________
I wish the right wing extremists would quit lying to score political points.
George W. Bush had 31 'czar' positions; President Obama has 32.
Posted by: tierra | Nov 10, 2009 3:12:04 PM
Where do you live that summer starts in January and ends in November?
Posted by: Numeros | Nov 10, 2009 2:47:54 AM
Is this a rebuttal? Yikes.
Posted by: Visualize Whirled Peas | Nov 10, 2009 10:16:12 AM
Ah, another right winger from the Land of Make Believe.
Posted by: Numeros | Nov 10, 2009 2:01:55 PM
First, a helpful hint for Obama's trip to Ft. Hood today. Don't call the shooting "sad" or a "tragedy".
Posted by: mr | Nov 10, 2009 7:13:47 AM
This is what happens when you fly around the world appeasing and apologizing. You paint yourself in a corner and then have to choose your words carefully. But liberals can't help themselves so it is what it is.
Now countries like Iran and Venezuela? Not so much into the nuances of wording.
Posted by: Visualize Whirled Peas | Nov 10, 2009 10:19:26 AM
Where do you live that summer starts in January and ends in November?
Posted by: Numeros | Nov 10, 2009 2:47:54 AM
Is this a rebuttal? Yikes.
Posted by: Visualize Whirled Peas | Nov 10, 2009 10:16:12 AM
Certainly you can find some more relevant metric?
Posted by: Flash Override | Nov 10, 2009 6:50:39 AM
Ok.
15+ million unemployed
$3 trillion dollar federal spending CYTD
$1.3 trillion budget deficit
Small business assets falling
Corporate assets falling
Gitmo still open
Sent more troops to Afghanistan
Troops reading enemy combantants their rights
Troops must disengage whenever possible
No decision on Afghanistan
Still in Iraq
Terrorist attack on US soil
Iran still developing nuclear technology
No accurate, verifiable data on Stimulus Plan results
Three times as many czars as the previous administration
Constantly demonizes its perceived adversaries
On the plus side, he killed a fly on tv...
Posted by: Visualize Whirled Peas | Nov 10, 2009 10:13:56 AM
First, a helpful hint for Obama's trip to Ft. Hood today. Don't call the shooting "sad" or a "tragedy".
Call it what it is, a criminal murderous rampage against the United States. Say he's angered more than saddened, and will ensure it won't happen again. Call it the result of twenty years of excruciating political correctness tying up the most powerful military in the world.
Say this administration will not compromise security for political correctness. Announce clearly that no one should hesitate to call out such problems for fear of legal or career retribution.
Order a full investigation of the extent to which security and military organizations have been infiltrated by jihadist elements. Have them review the results of political and special interest groups pressure and influence on U.S. security organizations to allow that infiltration. This should include the FBI and the TSA security force.
They should also study the degree to which political intimidation is used to discourage the outing of people like Nidal Hasan.
Posted by: mr | Nov 10, 2009 7:13:47 AM
You've all been sucked into the approval polls, as if the President were some product launch or fashion trend. Certainly you can find some more relevant metric?
Posted by: Flash Override | Nov 10, 2009 6:50:39 AM
Bush's approval rating (Gallup) was at 51% immediately prior to 9/11. Obama's approval rating (Gallup) is 53% today.
Posted by: Monica | Nov 10, 2009 6:19:38 AM
President Obama's numbers aren't much different from President Reagan's whose popularity frequently dipped below 50 percent during his first term,another war? President Obama hasn't started ANY wars. You're thinking of Bush and Cheney who started the last two - the ones we're still in.
Posted by: Brain | Nov 10, 2009 6:12:11 AM
I have a strong belief that Obama will not start any wars, I think he knows well about the losses in the war.. and he wont repeat Bush again....
-huan
Posted by: Huan Liu | Nov 10, 2009 2:52:48 AM
1/28/09
Approve: 63.3%
Disapprove: 20.0%
Total: 83.3%
11/9/09
Approve: 51.7%
Disapprove: 43.7%
Total: 95.4%
Looks like some people spent the summer making up their minds. Disapproval more than doubled and totals went up 12.1%
Posted by: Visualize Whirled Peas | Nov 9, 2009 10:57:12 PM
________
Where do you live that summer starts in January and ends in November?
Posted by: Numeros | Nov 10, 2009 2:47:54 AM
Bush didn't reach Obama approval lows until 4 years into his presidency.
Posted by: jennifert7 | Nov 10, 2009 12:54:10 AM
_______________________________________
jennifert you're going to have to get your facts straight if you expect people to take your posts at all seriously . . ..
Bush's approval rating (Gallup) was at 51% immediately prior to 9/11. Obama's approval rating (Gallup) is 53% today.
Posted by: tierra | Nov 10, 2009 1:03:45 AM
Bush didn't reach Obama approval lows until 4 years into his presidency. It's not Republicans or dems, jwh, it's independents. They no likey him no more. Buyer's remorse. He's incompetent. It's obvious.
Posted by: jennifert7 | Nov 10, 2009 12:54:10 AM
IF we're lucky he won't start another war!
___________________________________
Another war? President Obama hasn't started ANY wars. You're thinking of Bush and Cheney who started the last two - the ones we're still in.
Posted by: tierra | Nov 10, 2009 12:30:34 AM
Wonder how much he can screw up on this trip! (OR how much he can put America down and apologize for us!)
IF we're lucky he won't start another war!
Posted by: CLEO2U | Nov 9, 2009 11:47:02 PM
Wasn't Bush at like 85-90% approval rating 10 months into the job?
jennifert7 | Nov 9, 2009 11:19:27 PM
Yes, Democrats are Americans first and in the wake of the terrorist attack of 9/11 did not point fingers but rallied around the office of the President. I wonder if Republicans would have done the same, or if they would eagerly seize a terrorist attack for partisan political gain.
Posted by: jhw539 | Nov 9, 2009 11:35:14 PM
Posted by: Visualize Whirled Peas | Nov 9, 2009 10:57:12 PM
President Obama's numbers aren't much different from President Reagan's whose popularity frequently dipped below 50 percent during his first term.
Posted by: tierra | Nov 9, 2009 11:24:42 PM
Wasn't Bush at like 85-90% approval rating 10 months into the job?
Posted by: jennifert7 | Nov 9, 2009 11:19:27 PM
Real Clear Politics:
President's Job Approval
1/28/09
Approve: 63.3%
Disapprove: 20.0%
Total: 83.3%
11/9/09
Approve: 51.7%
Disapprove: 43.7%
Total: 95.4%
Looks like some people spent the summer making up their minds. Disapproval more than doubled and totals went up 12.1%
Posted by: Visualize Whirled Peas | Nov 9, 2009 10:57:12 PM
Post a comment
