Trading Away the Asia-Pacific The U.S. gives China a strategic opening.

The weekend's summit of Asian leaders in Thailand generated more heat than light on economics, but one thing is increasingly clear: Beijing and Tokyo understand the strategic importance of trade. Washington does not, and it risks paying the price in lost influence...

...Washington is sending a very different signal on the trade issues that matter most to a region still dependent on exports to the U.S. President Obama has done nothing to ratify the U.S.-South Korea trade pact and has picked tariff spats with China. Congress's protectionist drumbeat and apparent lack of U.S. concern over a falling dollar raise questions about U.S. policy.

With China angling for regional leadership, the U.S. can't afford to be seen as an unreliable economic partner. Mr. Obama needs to reassert U.S. leadership in Asia, starting with trade.