President Obama's Diplomatic Debut- Did He Pass?

President Obama marked his global diplomatic debut in the G-20 economic summit. He, who has worked toward recovering the cold relations with his European counterparts from the Bush era, has also strived to avoid cracks over monetary regulations and stimulus spending by industrialized nations. He seemed to succeed in setting forth his willingness to cooperating for the time being. He will attend a NATO top-level meeting that will discuss fundamental issues in regards to supports to Afghanistan.

“I came here to listen, not to lecture.”

This is what Obama said at a joint press conference with Gordon Brown of the U.K. on April 1st before the opening of the G-20 summit. This remark symbolizes his attitude to strive for harmony in his first summit attendance.

Germany and France, who emphasize strong monetary restrictions, opposed the 2% stimulus spending target from the total national GDP that the U.S. proposed before the previous G-20 summit last month. The relations between the U.S. and Europe, which had cooled during the Bush administration over the Iraq war, became strained on this matter once again.

In response, Obama practically withdrew the proposal and said in an interview with the “Financial Times,” “Each country had its own constraints.” On the other hand, he reached some agreements on buying up toxic assets and reforming regulations on global finance.

The monetary reform plan especially met European interests in getting America to take responsibility for bringing about the economic crisis, and to initiate a plan to oversee hedge funds. He sent a sign to compromises and well prepared for leading some kind of agreement before leaving the summit for a trip to the Europe.

In terms of bilateral talks, Obama met Medvedev of Russia and Hu Jintao of China for the first time. Both Obama and Medvedev, both in their forties, aimed at recovering from the cold U.S.-Russia relations that started in since the fight over Georgia last August. Although Obama has called China as a country that manipulates foreign exchange during his presidential campaign, U.S. and China agreed to start talking about a new economic strategy. Trips to both Russia and China were promised, too.

Apparently, he wanted to delay essential debates on global economy, diplomatic relations, and security because in the G-20 meeting, “He had to behave in a more balanced manner.” (Financial Times)

In the NATO meeting and discussing plans to rebuild Afghanistan, however, “Fundamental opposition against Europe may surface.” (Dr. Niles Gardiner of the Heritage Foundation, USA) Obama’s diplomatic challenges have just began.