AP News In Brief

Obama seeks equal partnership in Asia; welcomes China's growing economic muscle

TOKYO (AP) — President Barack Obama pressed on with his mission to repair America's global standing, telling Asians he was determined to engage them as equal partners in the economy, diplomacy and security.

In a 40-minute speech Saturday that ranged across the multitude of issues, the president declared the United States a "nation of the Pacific. Asia and the United States are not separated by this great ocean; we are bound by it."

While he offered few specifics on the key issues of trade, Obama reached out warmly to China — soon expected to overtake Japan as the world's No. 2 economy — applauding Beijing's robust strides as a burgeoning economic engine.

"We welcome China's efforts to play a greater role on the world stage, a role in which their growing economy is joined by growing responsibility," Obama said in the speech to 1,500 prominent Japanese in a soaring downtown Tokyo concert hall.

It was the fifth major foreign address of Obama's 10-month presidency, continuing the sharp break with the unilateral approach that marked international relations under the Bush administration.