As The U.S. Withdraws From Iraq, China Believes That The U.S. Will Now Focus On Them And Asia

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Beijing, capital of China, July 18, 2011. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

China Warily Watches U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq -- Washington Post

BEIJING — As the U.S. military on Thursday formally ended its intervention in Iraq and prepared to withdraw the last of its combat troops, China was watching warily and with deep concern about where those troops might go next.

The worry here is that an American military free of the nearly nine-year-long commitment to Iraq might now be freer to focus attention on the Asia-Pacific region, which China considers its back yard. In the past month, China has seen the Obama administration promise a pivot to Asia, with the establishment of a new U.S. military base in Darwin, on Australia’s northern coast, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit to Burma, also known as Myanmar, which China considers an ally.

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My Comment: The Chinese have nothing to worry about .... and in a certain way they are not. Their main concern is on what will their neighbors do, and how the U.S. may inadvertantly (or deliberately) influence China's relations with these countries. With the Iraq war winding down and plans to leave Afghanistan are now on the table .... the Chinese know that US interest and focus will be on the Pacific region .... but more importantly .... China's rivals also know that, and are now positioning themselves to cultivate better and stronger relations with the U.S.. What happens next .... I do not know, but I do know that we are going to experience some interesting foreign policy situations in the next few years.