Third, US views of South Korea clash with South Korea's views of Japan. South Korea feels potentially threatened by Japan and has a strong desire to overtake its more powerful neighbor. The US, on the other hand wants Japan and South Korea to cooperate in establishing a strong Northeast Asia line of defense.

South Korea has noticed that its role in Asia isn’t seen as important as before in US foreign policy, but it dares not display an openly anti-American attitude. South Korean president Lee Myung-bak’s tough stance on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has left the country feeling insecure and there is a general anti-Japanese mood among the population. Under the circumstances, Lee has to no alternative but to cooperate closely with the US and hope for better days.

In a speech at Cambridge University earlier this month, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said China would find it difficult to meet its GDP growth target of eight percent in 2009. But for America and Europe the issue is not economic growth, but how to deal falls in output. Even if China's annual GDP growth only reaches six percent, American and European countries will lick their chops.

The US is clear about its dire condition. Although Congress has finally agreed to a reduced stimulus package, no one dares to say whether it will rescue the US economy. Furthermore, the Republicans have tried to embarrass Obama in various moves since he was sworn in as president, some of which appear to have racist overtones. And there is no doubt that the political temperature will rise as economic difficulties mount.

Looking one way, rowing another

The US needs cheap and good quality products from China but will continue to provoke trade disputes. This is partly a matter of the USA using China as a bargaining chip in its competition with Europe. The USA will never change its key policy directions.

It availed itself of Japan's fear that the latter was afraid of losing its support; it never intended to stop arms sales to Taiwan; it extended olive branches to its former foe Vietnam, showed warm attitude towards the Southeast Asian countries, and so forth.

Based on such considerations, Obama chose a circuitous foreign policy direction that however just amounts to old wine in new bottles. The US knows Europe wanted to oppose it by using China, so it will have to take up the challenge or be considered to have lost prestige.

Hence, Clinton's trip to Asia which was meant as a warning shot across Europe's bows. The ostensible themes of the financial crisis, humanitarian aid, security and climate change are secondary to the real purpose of ensuring US hegemony over the European and Asian continents, revealed clearly as the USA looked one way and rowed another.

(China.org.cn by Zhou Jing February 18, 2009)