The United States has engaged Asia for most of the time since the end of World War II with unquestioned economic strength as well as unrivaled military power. That has been changing in recent years, as China and other emerging Asian economies rise and their military clout increases.

But the shift in relative fortunes is most evident in trade and investment. Here — in a key area of leverage with Asia — the U.S. has slipped badly. As China expanded to overtake Japan and become the world's second largest economy after the U.S., its trade with the 10 member states of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, jumped six-fold to $193 billion between 2000 and 2010, surpassing that of the U.S.

China's share of Southeast Asia's commerce increased to 11.3 percent from 4 per cent in that time. Meanwhile, the U.S. share fell to 10.6 percent from 15 percent. The gap has widened since the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement came into force early last year.