The Chinese Policy of Obama's Administration in 2009-2012

This article is devoted to changes which took place in the US Chinese policy in 2009-2012, the first term of B. Obama as president. China's rise became the principle reason to transform all the Pacific policy of the United States. After the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 the economic and political power of the US and Europe seemed to be weakened, especially in the eyes of the Asian states. Many of them oriented their economic development to China and became dependent on it. At the same time these countries felt menace to loose their confidence in their security, which depended on the USA. As for China, the crisis of 2008-2009 did not adversely affected it greatly. Moreover, in 2010 the Chinese economy became the second one in the world. The main aim of the US in these circumstances became to preserve their presence, power and control over the region of Eastern Asia. They decided not only to strengthen their "old" partners - Japan, RK, Thailand, Australia - but also to form new, multilareral alliances with other Asian states to face the Chinese challenge. However, short history of G-2 showed how difficult it is to deal with the contemporary Chinese politicians. The US idea that two giants - the USA and China - should take the heavy burden of ruling all the international relations and decide all the serious problems together was not accepted by the Chinese politicians. They did not want to take the American problems on themselves and wanted to stay a developing country but not one of the world's leaders. The reaction of China to the American policy also takes place in the paper. After 2010 the relations between the USA and China become cool. China began to act more offensively. It declared the South-Chinese Sea the sphere of its national interests. China refused to revise its financial policy despite the American pressure. The American mass media began to call such a behavior "aggressive" and its rhetoric - militant. The President's Administration declared a new policy which newspapers and magazines called "Obama's shift". The American politicians decided to pursue the so-called "smart" policy in relations with China and Asian states and transfer the focus of this policy to the Pacific region. In 2011 State Secretary H. Clinton, then President B. Obama went for an Asian trip, where they declared priority of the Far Eastern region in the US foreign policy. Obama declared creating the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a zone of free trade. China was told that it could be involved in this organization only if it would implement a few conditions which are unfeasible just now. In Australia Obama declared that Darvin would be a new center of American operations in Asia but it would not be a military base. He began to create "strong strategic partnership" with Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanma. Far more attention was given to India. The new strategy was officially declared on 5 of January in 2012. Obama called himself "the first Pacific president". The most debatable questions in the American periodicals in 2011-2014 are: "Pax Americana or Pax Sinica?", "Will there be a new cold war?"

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