BEIJING: China’s official media said yesterday that ties with the United States were uneven in President Barack Obama’s first term and mutual trust was “whittled down”, but his re-election offered an opportunity to put the relationship back on track.
A commentary issued by state-run Xinhua news agency shortly after Obama’s election win seemed to indicate a sense of relief that continuity will be assured as Chinese leaders embark on their own transition of power. But it acknowledged that sore issues remained between the world’s largest and second-largest economies.
“As the two countries have been ever more economically interwoven, a new US government perhaps should start to learn how to build a more rational and constructive relationship with China,” Xinhua said.
“The new Obama administration perhaps should bear in mind that a stronger and more dynamic China-US relationship, especially in trade, will not only provide US investment with rich business opportunities, but also help to revive the sagging global economy.”
Losing Republican nominee Mitt Romney had talked tough on China throughout the campaign, repeatedly saying he would cite Beijing as a “currency manipulator” on his first day as president.
Obama, by contrast, struck a less confrontational tone. But last year, he announced a US “pivot” toward Asia that focuses attention on the Asia Pacific and has unnerved Beijing.
Japan congratulates Obama, vows to work closely with US
TOKYO: Japan’s prime minister congratulated US President Barack Obama on his re-election yesterday, as Tokyo looks for help to ease tensions with China and repair strained ties with Washington.
Yoshihiko Noda told reporters after his return from an Asia-Europe summit in Laos: “I have sent a message congratulating him on his re-election. I want to continue cooperating with him.”
Seiji Maehara, the minister for national strategy and economic and fiscal policy, also said: “The Japan-US relationship has been strengthened in the past four years under President Obama.”
“I hope we will cement the partnership further,” he added.
Japan is heavily dependent on the US for its security under a post-World War II treaty, but the ruling Democratic Party of Japan has been seen by some in Washington as a little cold on the alliance.
Parliamentarians on both sides of Japan’s political divide have raised objections to US pressure on Japan to join a multilateral free-trade pact involving countries around the Pacific.
There are also renewed protests in Okinawa, the island chain that is a reluctant host to more than half of 47,000 service personnel the US has in the country.
Agencies
