Obama prepares for last Asia trip as president
President Obama next month will make what is expected to be his final trip to Asia. There he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders.
During his time in the White House, Mr. Obama has sought to “rebalance” America’s defense and economic policy to counter China’s rising influence.
During the trip, from Sept. 2-9, he will attend the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, where he will meet privately with Mr. Xi.
He also will travel to Laos to take part in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and East Asia Summit, where leaders have grappled with China’s increasingly menacing territorial claims in the South China Sea.
His visit to Laos will be the first for an U.S. president. There, he will meet with Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachith and attend a town hall with young leaders.
The trip will be a chance for Mr. Obama to promote the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, a key part of his Asia strategy but one that faces a lot of opposition in the U.S. Congress.
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