Obama's trip highlights importance of Asia

BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to Southeast Asia signals a step further in the U.S. strategic shift toward Asia and highlights Asia's growing importance to the United States.

During the trip, Obama's first foreign tour after his reelection, the U.S. president will travel to Thailand and Myanmar and also meet with regional leaders at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia.

The diplomatic mission bears the symbolic weight attached to Asia by Obama, who, citing his birthplace of Hawaii and his childhood in Indonesia, has styled himself "America's first Pacific president."

No sitting U.S. president has ever visited Myanmar and Cambodia, or has picked countries solely in Southeast Asia for a foreign tour since the Vietnam War.

Obama's particular interest in Asia is tied to the growing strategic importance of the region. As the most dynamic economic area in the world, Asia accounts for about one third of global economic output and its contribution to global growth exceeds 30 percent.

We recommend:
A review on U.S. warships that pulled in HK	Beauty of body on and off stage	Hard life of rickshaw drivers in old city of New Delhi
N. Korea's 'dear respected' leader watches soccer game	N. Korea's Kim visits breast cancer research center	N. Korea's top leader visits sports facilities