With Obama in US, China's leaders Xi and Li in spotlight at summits
With Obama cancelling trip, country's leaders bound to get more attention in Indonesia and Brunei
Chinese leaders look set to steal the show at two key regional forums next week as the White House announced the cancellation of US President Barack Obama's trip to Southeast Asia.
Obama had planned to depart today for a four-nation, week-long trip. He cancelled visits to Malaysia and the Philippines earlier this week because of his budget struggle with the US Congress and said late on Thursday that he would not attend the regional summits in Indonesia and Brunei.
The scrapping of the trip because of the partial government shutdown in the US now puts the spotlight on President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) Forum on Monday and the East Asia Summit on Wednesday.
Analysts say the cancellation of Obama's trip also damages the US' strategic "rebalancing" in Asia, through which it seeks to re-engage with Asia in order to maintain its presence and interests in a region where China's clout is growing rapidly. Beijing sees the renewed US interest in Asia as a form of containment.
Ian Storey, a senior fellow with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, said the cancellation would project the image of the US in the region as "politically dysfunctional" and "on the brink of economic crisis".
"China, on the other hand, is looking prosperous and self-confident. Xi Jinping will have the floor at Apec, and so will Li at the East Asia Summit," said Storey.
With the economy growing, China is now seeking to regain trust in the region - eroded by recent tensions over maritime territorial disputes - with trade and investment incentives.