Ironically as American business people continue to take steps to understand China's shifting landscape and the implications of recent leadership changes in what is now the world's second-largest economy, U.S. President Barack Obama has provided them and others an unfortunate "teaching moment" about what is arguably, along with money and power, one of the three great motivators in modern China. That is the concept of "face" or "mianzi."

I spoke recently with Scott D. Seligman, a historian, former Fortune 500 business executive and author of "Chinese Business Etiquette," among other insightful China-focused books. He explains that in Chinese, as in English, the definition of face includes that space between a person's forehead and chin — one's eyes, nose and mouth. But Seligman adds, for Chinese and many others in Asia, face also describes a somewhat intangible concept that is tied to notions of personal dignity and respect.

Losing face in Asia can have a lot more consequence than momentary embarrassment. People think of you differently. Credibility erodes. Power, prestige, influence and even expectations of your abilities can decline. So, understandably the White House is likely hoping that Obama's cancellation of a planned trip to Southeast Asia due to a Washington budget impasse is met with some understanding. It was in no way intended as a slap in the face of counterparts at this month's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Indonesia and East Asia Summit in Brunei.