Obama Says U.S. Seeking Broader Engagement With Asia

Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama promised broader U.S. engagement with Asia and an expanded focus beyond the traditional economic powers such as Japan and China.

“We look to rising powers with the view that in the 21st century, the national security and economic growth of one country need not come at the expense of another,” Obama said in an address to an audience of Japanese business and political leaders in Tokyo’s Suntory Hall.

Setting out on his first trip to Asia as president, Obama is using today’s speech to outline his administration’s approach to the region, which includes greater engagement on economic and security issues.

Obama called for unified efforts to block North Korea’s nuclear weapons development and stressed the importance of increasing U.S. exports to achieve greater balance with countries that sell far more goods to the U.S. than they buy from American companies.

The world financial crisis will lead to a rebalancing for the U.S. economy, which will mean “saving more and spending less,” he said. Increasing exports will create millions of jobs in the U.S., Obama said.

The U.S. will support “an ambitious and balanced” Doha trade agreement that will open markets, Obama said. He also vowed to work toward completing a trade agreement with South Korea and enter into discussions for a Pacific trade accord.

Japan Alliance

“Our efforts in the Asia Pacific will be rooted, in no small measure, through an enduring and revitalized alliance between the United States and Japan,” Obama said. “But while our commitment to this region begins in Japan, it doesn’t end there.”

Noting he was born in Hawaii and lived in Indonesia as a child, Obama said the Pacific Rim has “helped shape my world view.”

He said his administration will give greater attention to the region’s multilateral organizations, such as the Association of South East Asian Nations. Obama will become the first U.S. president to meet with all 10 members of the group, which includes Myanmar, a nation under U.S. economic sanctions.

“I know that the United States has been disengaged from these organizations in recent years,” Obama said. “So let me be clear: those days have passed.”

China’s Influence

China’s growing economic and military influence in Asia doesn’t necessarily come at the expense of the U.S., Obama said.

“In an inter-connected world, power does not need to be a zero-sum game, and nations need not fear the success of another,” he said. “Cultivating spheres of cooperation -- not competing spheres of influence -- will lead to progress in the Asia Pacific.”

Obama lauded China’s role in the global recovery, saying the world’s third-largest economy played a “critical” part in helping mitigate the recession and jumpstart growth.

The U.S. will continue to approach its relationship with China based on American interests and will pursue areas of “pragmatic cooperation,” he said. That includes emphasizing expanded human rights, he added.

“The United States does not seek to contain China, nor does a deeper relationship with China mean a weakening of our bilateral alliances,” he said.

That cooperation will be tested by Obama’s pledge to push for a global accord on cutting emissions linked to climate change. Obama yesterday with Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama reaffirmed support for a target of cutting emissions by 80 percent by 2050 and today he said the world’s economies must strive for success at a United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen next month.

“All nations must accept their responsibility,” he said. “Each of us must do what we can to grow our economies without endangering our planet, and we must do it together.”

From Tokyo, Obama will travel to Singapore for meetings Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum before going on to China and South Korea.

To contact the reporters on this story: Julianna Goldman in Tokyo at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net; Edwin