Council on Foreign Relations

-          Obama addresses students during China visit.
-          Netanyahu rejects Palestinian plan to seek statehood.
-          United States unveils new Bagram prison.
-          UN presses for stabilized global food prices.

On his first full day visiting China, U.S. President Barack Obama stressed that Washington is not trying to contain China's rise but said trade between the two countries needs to be more balanced (RFE/RL). These comments, at a student forum in Shanghai, came ahead of talks (WashPost) on currency and trade imbalances between the two countries.

Obama also stressed the need for Internet freedom and human rights, but he did not mention Tibet or others sensitive issues that could increase tensions ahead of talks with Chinese leaders in Beijing.

Obama called the U.S.-China relationship "positive, constructive and comprehensive" and said it opened the door (Xinhua) to partnership on key global issues such as economic recovery, clean energy, nuclear weapons, and climate change. He said the United States would continue to fully support the "One China" policy and wanted to see improvement in the cross-strait relationship.

Analysis

In the Asia Times, nonproliferation expert Jing-dong Yuan says Obama needs to reassure Chinese leaders that the United States seeks "a pragmatic and cooperative partnership" with China.

In the Washington Post, Robert Kagan and Dan Blumenthal argue that "strategic reassurance" vis-à-vis China is not in the interest of the United States and its allies.

A CFR media conference call discusses the security and economic issues that will dominate Obama's agenda in Asia.

Background

A CFR Special Report examines the United States' role in the New Asia.

Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a new Palestinian plan to seek statehood through a UN Security Council vote Sunday, saying there was no alternative (YNet) to negotiating for peace.

Yemen: Yemen repeated its accusation that Iran is funding Houthi fighters against the Yemeni government, al-Jazeera reports.

Myanmar's detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi requested a meeting (AP) with the head of the country's ruling junta, as the United States promotes its new policy of engaging the military regime through high-level talks instead of sanctions.

The United States unveiled a new $60 million prison (WSJ) at Afghanistan's main U.S. air base, promising greater transparency as the U.S. Department of Defense grapples with abuses and militant recruiting in Afghan prisons.

Nepal: Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar met with Constituent Assembly leader Subas Nemwang Monday to discuss a way out of the parliamentary deadlock (NepalNews) that has provoked Maoist protests.

Reuters reports that the United Nations is preparing an exit strategy for its peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to pressure from DRC President Joseph Kabila, according to UN officials.

Egypt: Egypt introduced the first Internet domain name written in Arabic (al-Jazeera), after the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers decided last month to end the practice of only using Latin characters in Web site addresses.

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Singapore, President Obama acknowledged that a comprehensive climate deal would not be possible (NYT) this year after delays in Congress to pass cap-and-trade legislation.

Colombia: Colombia agreed to release four Venezuelan soldiers (PRESSTV) captured Friday along the Colombian-Venezuelan border amid strained tensions between the two countries over a military deal between the United States and Colombia.

Kosovo voters went to the polls (DeutscheWelle) to elect new mayors and town councils in the first election since the country's break from Serbia last year .

Russia: After meeting with Obama at the APEC summit in Singapore, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to join the United States in demanding that Iran curb its nuclear program or face further consequences (Telegraph).

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for a global effort to stabilize food prices (BBC) at the World Summit on Food Security, a UN conference in Rome, a year after major rises in food prices resulted in food crises around the world.