President Obama's Diplomatic Debut- Did He Pass?

Published in Sankei Shinbun
(Japan) on 02 April 2009
by Koji Watanabe (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Yota Mukaiyachi. Edited by Louis Standish.
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.


ロンドンでの主要20カ国・地域(G20)金融サミット(首脳会合)に出席したオバマ米大統領は、国際外交の舞台で本格的なデビューを飾った。ブッシュ前政権時代に冷え込んだ欧州との関係改善を目指した大統領は、金融規制やをめぐり表面化した欧州との亀裂の回避に努め、協調行動を打ち出すことにひとまず成功した。3日からはアフガン支援を主要議題に北大西洋条約機構(NATO)の首脳会議に臨む。
 「講義をするためではない。話を聞くためにここに来たのだ」
 G20開幕を直前に控えた1日、ブラウン英首相との共同会見で、オバマ大統領が漏らした一言は、初のサミット出席に際し「融和」を重視したオバマ氏の姿勢を象徴する言葉だった。
 先月のG20財務相会合前に米国が示した「GDP(国内総生産)比2%」という財政出動の数値目標に対し、金融規制強化を最重視するドイツやフランスが反発。ブッシュ前政権下、イラク戦争をめぐって冷え込んだ欧州との関係は再び緊張した。
 これを受けてオバマ大統領は、英紙フィナンシャル・タイムズとのインタビューで「それぞれの国には固有の制約がある」と述べ、財政出動の目標を事実上取り下げる一方、G20の直前の1週間で不良資産の買い取り策や、金融規制改革案の発表にこぎ着けた。
 特に金融改革案は、金融危機を招いた米国自身の責任を認め、ヘッジファンドの監督強化を打ち出すなど欧州の主張に沿う中身だった。歩み寄りのサインを送り、合意形成の準備を整えて欧州の旅に赴いた格好だ。
 2国間会談ではロシアのメドベージェフ大統領、中国の胡錦濤国家主席と初会談をこなした。同じ40歳代のメドベージェフ大統領との間では、昨年8月のロシアのグルジア侵攻などで冷却化した米露関係の改善を狙った。中国に対してオバマ氏は「為替操作国」と選挙期間中から名指ししてきたが、新たな経済戦略対話の開始で合意。中露両国の訪問も決まった。
 G20の場では「微妙なバランスをとって振る舞わねばならなかった」(フィナンシャル・タイムズ紙)事情もあり、国際経済、外交安全保障をめぐる本質的な議論は先送りした格好だ。
 アフガニスタン支援策が最大の議題となるNATO首脳会議では、「欧州との本質的な対立が噴き出す可能性がある」(米有力シンクタンク、ヘリテージ財団のガーディナー研究員)。オバマ外交の試練はこれからだといえる。
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