Over the past 20 years, the United States has expanded NATO eastward, fought the war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq, and adjusted the centre of its global strategy three times, the so-called "pivot to Asia". The US pivot to Asia was launched by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her visit to the Asia-Pacific region in February 2009. At the time, he visited South Korea, China, Japan and Indonesia, shifting the US counter-terrorism strategy from Iraq to Afghanistan and expressing a desire to improve relations with North Korea and the Islamic world. Hillary's visit was aimed at strengthening the US role in the Asia-Pacific region and coordinating policy. The Obama administration maintained friendly relations between the US and China, but the process was slow. In March 2010, the sinking of the Cheonan led to a new macro-adjustment of Asia-Pacific strategy. China analysed the US strategy of returning to Asia from the following perspectives.
First, the United States attaches great importance to global maritime hegemony. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has maintained its position as the world's maritime hegemon by constantly adjusting its maritime strategy. Therefore, if a potential maritime challenger emerges in the Asia-Pacific region to challenge the US, the US will certainly try to suppress its progress and maintain its traditional maritime position. In addition, as East Asia becomes a place of regional security issues, economic potential and great power play, the US has shifted its global strategic centre from Europe to East Asia.
Second, the Obama administration's pivot to the East is a continuation of the Clinton and Bush administrations' coordination of Asia-Pacific strategies. The Clinton administration attached great importance to relations with East Asian countries in order to allay the fears of Asia-Pacific countries that the United States might lose power in the region due to China's rapid growth. In addition, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was established in 1995 and 1998, with the "East Asia Strategic Report" as the theoretical basis for strategic coordination, and the Asia-Pacific military alliance was strengthened by promoting a diverse economic cooperation mechanism. Even during the Bush administration, the administration prepared for the adjustment of the Asia-Pacific strategy in view of China's rapid economic development and potential, and since 2000, it has considered the movement of US forces to the Asia-Pacific region from a military and security perspective through a series of reports and during his tenure.
The United States' experience of two major counter-terrorism campaigns has raised awareness of security issues, changing the social psychology and political ecosystem, leading to a relative decline in its capabilities and bottlenecks in its own internal development in its relations with the world, both internally and externally. Among these was the rise of China, an emerging power that could cause a crisis in the world power order. How to deal with China's rise has become the most difficult issue for the Obama administration. China's economic influence has weakened the attractiveness of the American development model and leadership of Asia-Pacific economic cooperation, while China's defence modernisation has also affected the US-led regional security architecture. The active promotion of the US East Asia strategy is, first, to maintain the US-led order and contain the rapid rise of China, a rising power, in the global power order. Second, in terms of economic benefits, it is to maintain future interests through the continued economic development of East Asia through market economics and free trade. Third, it is to maintain regional security by strengthening relations with East Asian allies that have been maintained in terms of military security.
