US President Barack Obama Prepares for First Visit to Asia

(10 Nov 09-RV) US president Barack Obama this week makes his first trip as president to Asia. The trip will take Obama to an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Singapore. But the critical leg will come in China, where Obama will have to navigate an increasingly complex relationship with the country that is the largest holder of U.S. foreign debt and its second-largest trading partner. Diana Furtchgott –Roth is a senior fellow at the Hudson institute in Washington DC. She says that a looming trade war is something that both the China and the US are eager to avoid…