Abstract
This chapter will describe the extent to which President Barack Obama rebalanced U.S. foreign policy toward the Asia–Pacific with a specific focus on China as a major power and how these forces shaped the Trump presidency. Obama sought to fundamentally recast U.S. foreign policy by downgrading the U.S. military presence in the Middle East and increasing U.S. domestic energy production and emphasizing a burden-sharing strategy with NATO and consolidating the large transatlantic economic relationship. As his administration viewed it, the Asia–Pacific in general and China specifically would challenge U.S. foreign policy in the twenty-first century. However, the emergence of a largely multipolar world order, the fraying of the so-called liberal world order, and a powerful sense of nationalism led to the election of Donald Trump in 2016. There are similarities between both presidents as each tapped into powerful anti-establishment forces that promised to end regime change in foreign policy, criticized elites and the status quo, and restore focus on the economy following the 2008–2009 Great Recession. Although Obama’s embrace of “nation-building here at home” and Trump’s promotion of “America First” may sound different, they both tapped into the same urges and movements calling for dramatic change away from hegemony and interventionism. With regard to the Asia–Pacific, Obama sought to contain the rise of China by embracing multilateralism, most notably with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and Trump moved to counter China by embracing tariffs. While presidents viewed China as a threat to the U.S., the two applied different policies. In the end, there was remarkable continuity in foreign policy from Obama to Trump, although with some notable policy differences. The reality is that the postwar international system had been undergoing significant change long before the 2016 presidential election of Donald Trump.
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Dolan, C.J. (2022). Containment, Engagement, and Continuity: China and the Evolution of obama’s Foreign Policy Toward the Asia–Pacific. In: Grossman, M., Matthews, R.E., Schortgen, F. (eds) Achievements and Legacy of the Obama Presidency. The Evolving American Presidency. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89529-7_11
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