Asian Leaders Attempt to Decode Trump on the Future of Pivot
- President-elect tells Asian leaders he values alliances
- Asia has become an engine for America’s economic growth
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Donald Trump is set to tear up a giant Pacific trade pact and has questioned alliances that have defined America’s engagement in Asia since World War II. But it’s too early to declare President Barack Obama’s “pivot” dead.
For Asia’s leaders, a big question from Trump’s win is whether America’s military and economic focus on Asia will continue, given how Trump played on a populist mood at home and pledged a less interventionist foreign policy. With an increasingly expansionist China on their doorstep, many countries have looked to the U.S. to provide a counterbalance.