Promoting Pacific peace

Window of opportunity for US and China to reset relations and advance political, economic, military and security ties

The United States' rebalancing to Asia was launched in November 2011 in the post-counterterrorism era, with the US increasingly viewing the Asia-Pacific region as strategically important as it shifted its strategic focus from Afghanistan and Iraq. The rebalancing led to strong anxiety in Europe as well as in Asia. While the Europeans were preoccupied by the partial withdrawal of US troops from Europe and the region's declining importance in the US' grand strategy, Asian countries were more concerned with the negative reaction from China and the reorganization of the regional structure.

Although many US officials, such as Tom Donilon and Kurt Campbell, claimed that the strategy was not aimed at China, there were still many debates among US officials and intellectuals over how to pacify China's doubts and accusations. Kenneth Lieberthal, a seasoned China hand with the Brookings Institution and a former senior director for Asia-Pacific Affairs at the National Security Council, called for a rebalancing of the Obama administration's strategy toward China.