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U.S. President Barack Obama frequently expressed good will over the course of his Asia tour, calling the U.S. a “Pacific nation” and himself “the U.S.’s first Pacific president.” Analysts are saying, however, Obama has failed to achieve many of the results hoped for in areas that include remedying adverse trade conditions and securing cooperation on a response to the Iran and North Korea nuclear issues. Immediately after the U.S.-Japan summit meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio left Obama in Tokyo and headed to Singapore for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, while China remained tight-lipped in response to calls for an upward revaluation of the Yuan. As Obama returns to the U.S. empty-handed, his biggest realization may be that the U.S. is no longer what it was before, nor is Asia the region of old that came running when called.

During President Obama’s visit to China, the central leg of his Asian tour, Obama got a true sense of the “China that can say no” to the U.S. Obama was unable to obtain any specific concessions on the Yuan-Dollar exchange rate or sanctions on Iran. Xue Chen, research fellow of American studies with the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said, “The U.S. has a lot of favors to ask of China, but not much it can give.”

One important outcome of the U.S.-China summit, however, is that the two powers are showing their determination to avoid a clash and to build cooperation and trust. A joint statement issued after the meeting between Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday was the first such statement between the two countries in 12 years. Obama stressed the importance of this development, emphasizing, “A relationship that used to be focused just on economic and trade issues is now expanding to deal with a whole host of global issues in which U.S.-China cooperation is critical.”

The U.S.-Japan alliance, which has shown some signs of conflict surrounding the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station on Okinawa, was slightly mended as the two countries agreed to present a resolution soon in high-level working talks. Seeds of discord remain, however, as Hatoyama refuses to bend in his determination to avoid haste while keeping an eye on public opinion on Okinawa.

Obama did at least have a brief respite from tension during his visit in South Korea. In contrast with China and Japan’s clashing opinions and calls for a relationship on equal footing, security issue-plagued South Korea emphasized its alliance with the U.S. and provided warm solace to an Obama weary from his travails in the other two countries. Since their summit, however, a temperature differential has been detected in the governments of the two countries on the issue of whether or not to revise the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA).

The response of U.S. media outlets to Obama’s Asia tour has generally been cool. In its Thursday edition (local time), the New York Times noted Obama’s failure to achieve much progress in China on major issues such as human rights, media controls, the Iran and North Korea nuclear issues or currency policy, and likened the process to a long, steep climb. The Washington Post also reported that Obama “has emerged from his first trip to China with no big breakthroughs on important issues.” However, Obama’s South Korea visit was described by the New York Times as “the last, and perhaps easiest, leg” of his Asia tour, and President Lee Myung-bak as more favorable, as expected, than his Chinese or Japanese counterparts.

Japanese media outlets cautioned against the U.S. emphasis on China. The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper wrote, “While the U.S. emphasizes the preservation and strengthening of traditional alliances in Japan and South Korea, it has called for advancing relations with China in order to respond to ‘global issues.’” The Mainichi Daily News also printed a column stating that “the heart of the new Asia policy of the U.S. is ultimately in China.”

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]