Obama departs for China

U.S. President Barack Obama left Washington, DC on Sunday (November 9) for a trip to Asia that will include talks with Chinese leaders about how Beijing can use its influence with North Korea to rein in its nuclear weapons program, U.S. officials have said.

In November 2011, with the Arab Spring uprisings in full tilt and Europe rocked by a debt crisis, President Barack Obama flew to Asia to promote a shift of America's military, diplomatic and business assets to the region. His then Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, declared in the same year that the 21st century would be "America's Pacific century".

Fast-forward to today: as Obama flies to Asia on Sunday, Washington's "pivot" to the region is becoming more visible. It includes deployment of American Marines in Darwin, Australia, stepped up U.S. naval visits to the Philippines and many more joint drills with that nation's armed forces, as well as the lifting of a ban on lethal weapons sales to Vietnam.