Saturday, November 19, 2011

Obama Meets with Prime Minister of China Wen

Diplomacy is key to the future of the U.S. It is a skill I'm afraid republicans lack. They don't seem to grasp global relations. Elect a republican president, get another war. Count on it.
As China’s wealth has grown, the country has made increasingly assertive claims about what parts of the sea it controls, challenging claims staked by countries like Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.

A senior administration official who briefed reporters on Air Force One, said that President Obama had spoken about the dispute during the one-on-one meeting, but that China had also been forced to confront the issue during a final summit meeting with Asian leaders.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that of the nearly 20 leaders at the meeting, 16 voiced concerns about the South China Sea.

He said Mr. Wen at first seemed “maybe a little bit grouchy” about the confrontation, but then made statements that appeared to be less confrontational than in the past. What was interesting, the official said, was not what Mr. Wen said, but what he did not. Read more at NYT