China’s rise and a reassessment of US priorities led the Obama administration to announce in 2011 a ‘pivot’ to Asia. In a much-publicised article in Foreign Policy magazine, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spelled out the new policy priority:
As the war in Iraq winds down and America begins to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, the United States stands at a pivot point. Over the last 10 years, we have allocated immense resources to those two theaters. In the next 10 years, we need to be smart and systematic about where we invest time and energy, so that we put ourselves in the best position to sustain our leadership, secure our interests, and advance our values. One of the most important tasks of American statecraft over the next decade will therefore be to lock in a substantially increased investment – diplomatic, economic, strategic, and otherwise – in the Asia–Pacific region.
(Clinton, 2011, p. 56)
About 20 minutes
Listen to this short excerpt from a report from BBC Radio 4’s World Tonight programme recorded in 2013. The report is from the BBC's Washington correspondent, Paul Adams, and is introduced by Ritulah Shah. As you listen, make notes in the box below on the following questions.
Now listen to this extract from the subsequent studio debate between US and Chinese analysts. The discussion is chaired by Ritulah Shah and features Chinese academics Wang Yizhou and Jin Canrong, and US analysts Paul Haenle and Ian Bremmer.
You may have noted a number of points. Here are some that we noted:
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