The 'Missed Opportunity' Of Trump's Asia Trip : Parallels : NPR
The 'Missed Opportunity' Of  Trump's Asia Trip
When  President Trump  returned this week from a 12-day  five-nation swing through Asia   he  gave  himself  high marks for the "tremendous success of  this trip ."
But experts say that while  he  avoided major blunders during  his  stops in Japan  South Korea  Japan  Vietnam and the Philippines   the president  missed more than one opportunity to offer  his  administration's strategic vision for the region â the world's largest  most populous and fastest growing.
"It was all fluff " says David Shambaugh  a professor of political science and international affairs at the Elliott School at George Washington University. "Nothing came out of it except  Trump  flying in and being treated well  himself ."
Shambaugh points to the lavish dinners  honor guards at nearly every stop and the tea to which  the president  was treated in Beijing's Forbidden City as "symbols" that the Chinese and "in fact  most Asian leaders  have figured out  Trump " â by flattering  his  ego.
 Trump  reassured Japan's President Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Moon Jae-In of South Korea of U.S. commitment; they in turn vowed to keep working toward the goal of a denuclearized North Korea and pledged some investments in the U.S.
" He  did no harm " says Shambaugh.
"All countries dealing with us on trade know that the rules have changed  " Trump  said after  he  returned. But on the roughly $300 billion trade imbalance between the U.S. and China   Trump  "didn't get any structural changes " notes Evan Medeiros  a managing director at the Eurasia Group and a former senior advisor to the Obama administration on Asia.
Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated part of the trip was  Trump 's speech in Danang  Vietnam  to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)  a forum that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
 Trump 's speech to the body was billed to outline the administration's overall strategy toward what the administration now calls a "free and open Indo-Pacific."
The heart of  the speech   however  was a full-throated appeal to economic nationalism  in which the U.S. was "going to focus on its own interests " says Medeiros.
That stood in stark contrast with the announcement on APEC's sidelines by 11 member countries that they plan to persist with the Trans Pacific Partnership â a multilateral trade deal negotiated by the Obama administration that  Trump  walked out of on  his  third day in office.
 Trump 's repeated use of the phrase "Indo-Pacific" followed a recent decision by the administration to redefine the "Asia-Pacific" region with a nod toward the growing importance of India and the role the administration would like the world's largest democracy to play in the region.
The 'Missed Opportunity' Of  Trump's Asia Trip
When   [TGT] returned this week from a 12-day  five-nation swing through Asia    [TGT]   gave   [TGT]   high marks for the "tremendous success of  this trip ."
But experts say that while  he  avoided major blunders during  his  stops in Japan  South Korea  Japan  Vietnam and the Philippines    [TGT] missed more than one opportunity to offer   [TGT]   administration's strategic vision for the region â the world's largest  most populous and fastest growing.
"It was all fluff " says David Shambaugh  a professor of political science and international affairs at the Elliott School at George Washington University. "Nothing came out of it except   [TGT] flying in and being treated well   [TGT]  ."
Shambaugh points to the lavish dinners  honor guards at nearly every stop and the tea to which   [TGT] was treated in Beijing's Forbidden City as "symbols" that the Chinese and "in fact  most Asian leaders  have figured out   [TGT]  " â by flattering  his  ego.
  [TGT] reassured Japan's President Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Moon Jae-In of South Korea of U.S. commitment; they in turn vowed to keep working toward the goal of a denuclearized North Korea and pledged some investments in the U.S.
" He  did no harm " says Shambaugh.
"All countries dealing with us on trade know that the rules have changed  "  [TGT]   said after   [TGT]   returned. But on the roughly $300 billion trade imbalance between the U.S. and China    [TGT] "didn't get any structural changes " notes Evan Medeiros  a managing director at the Eurasia Group and a former senior advisor to the Obama administration on Asia.
Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated part of the trip was   [TGT]  's speech in Danang  Vietnam  to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)  a forum that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
  [TGT]  's speech to the body was billed to outline the administration's overall strategy toward what the administration now calls a "free and open Indo-Pacific."
The heart of  the speech   however  was a full-throated appeal to economic nationalism  in which the U.S. was "going to focus on its own interests " says Medeiros.
That stood in stark contrast with the announcement on APEC's sidelines by 11 member countries that they plan to persist with the Trans Pacific Partnership â a multilateral trade deal negotiated by the Obama administration that   [TGT]   walked out of on   [TGT]   third day in office.
  [TGT]  's repeated use of the phrase "Indo-Pacific" followed a recent decision by the administration to redefine the "Asia-Pacific" region with a nod toward the growing importance of India and the role the administration would like the world's largest democracy to play in the region.