President Barack Obama, on his first visit to Asia as president, made an important speech in Tokyo on Saturday that can serve as a template for U.S. policy toward that region during his term.

The speech was carefully deferential to Mr. Obama's Japanese hosts, although there was every reason to make his seminal Asia speech from there. The United States and Japan are still the world's two largest economies in spite of the visible, growing importance of China.

Mr. Obama cited Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and himself as a "new generation of leadership" and underlined the importance of an enduring but revitalized U.S.-Japanese relationship.

Although Mr. Obama was not the first U.S. president to say so, he emphasized that America is "a nation of the Pacific." He spoke of his own heritage, having lived in Indonesia and having part-Asian family members, calling himself "America's first Pacific president." He called America's alliances in the region, with Japan, South Korea, Australia, Thailand and the Philippines, "the bedrock of security and stability."

Turning to China, he sought to play down any notion of rivalry. He maintained that, "in an interconnected world, power does not need to be a zero-sum game. ... " He said the United States seeks "pragmatic cooperation" with China. Seeking to avoid any appearance of naivete on China's steady expansion of military capacity, he said that aspect of relations was a matter of improving communications between the two militaries.

He stressed the importance of U.S. participation in Asian economic forums such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the East Asia Summit. He cited the need for economic recovery and growth, referring to agreements at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. Addressing Asian concerns, particularly those held by America's Chinese and Japanese creditors, he spoke of the need for reform of the U.S. financial system and the reduction of U.S. deficits. He noted Americans' concern about jobs and linked them to U.S. consumers' ability to buy Asia's exports.

Mr. Obama started the trip well with his speech, and what he said about the United States' interdependent economic relationship with Asia is true -- even alarming for those Americans who like to think of their country as capable of setting an independent course.

What remains to be seen is what he will now do to put actions behind his words.

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