During the past week US President George W. Bush visited East Asian countries including Japan, South Korea, China and Mongolia, and attended the 13th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting held in Busan. Viewed from the schedule, delegation size and standards, this can be called the most important East Asian tour paid by the president since taking office.

For the United States, the current East Asian diplomatic pattern is at a period of historical change. Bogged down in Iraq, the US control over East Asian affairs has been weakened. On the other hand, East Asian countries are growing increasingly independent in economic, political and security areas, and are vigorously pushing forward their process of regional cooperation and integration. Particularly disturbing to the United States is the rising influence of a fast advancing China in this region or even in the world. Out of all strategic considerations, Washington believes it's necessary to adjust its alliance relations in East Asia.

An overall look at this East Asia tour reveals that President Bush basically "affirmed" the current situation of US bilateral ties with the four countries. In Japan, Bush lauded the US-Japan alliance a "pillar of stability and security guarantee in Asia". In South Korea, the president issued a joint declaration with the host on the establishment of an "overall, vigorous and mutually-beneficial partnership". In China, Bush repeated that "China is an important country" and "the two countries should expand contacts and strengthen dialogue". In Mongolia, Bush declared that "the United States will support Mongolia to participate in political and economic cooperation systems both international and regional".

All these are "positive signals" sent by Bush, which, however, are isolated with or even contrary to each other if judged from an overall US diplomacy in East Asia. Bush's tour apparently bore a feature of "balance diplomacy", but failed to address people's strategic and general concerns.

First is the positioning of China-US relations. Although Bush appreciated Chinese leaders' remark that the Sino-US ties "bear increasingly a global significance", he didn't give a clear-cut response to the positioning of the ties. By now the United States has realized "China's rising" as an "irreversible course", but has not reached consensus on how to handle a "rising China", and the "China threat" theory has been on and off. A long-term positioning of China policy is significant not only to the two countries but to East Asia or even the whole world.

Second is US military alliance in East Asia. During his visit, President Bush tried his best to lift the alliance with Japan and adjust that with South Korea. These acts, on one hand, are out of realistic needs of US global anti-terror campaign, an effort to seek for support from these allies over US security concerns; on the other hand, they are also intended to "guard against" and "pin down" China. As the first US president to visit Mongolia, Bush's lift of US-Mongolia ties is also aimed at the above-mentioned two purposes. In the sophisticated East Asia pattern, the US construction of military alliances will apparently cast a negative impact on regional security and stability.

Last is the clash between regional independence, integration and US leading role. As a member of the Asia-Pacific, the United States participated in the APEC discussion of economic and trade cooperation in this region. However, as calls for an "East Asia community" going louder and louder, outside APEC, an "East Asia Summit" based on ASEAN "10+3" will be held without US presence. Although East Asian countries announced that their integration process is not exclusive, the United States would inevitably feel its leading role in this region being challenged.

This article by Yu Wanli from American Studies Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, is carried on the third page of People's Daily, November 28, and is translated by People's Daily Online.