When President Obama assumed office, he wanted to reverse what he perceived as President Bush's overreach in foreign policy, writes Robert B. Zoellick. "He determined on withdrawal from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite the risks of unraveling that we are witnessing today. Then his administration failed to offset retrenchment with a strategic initiative. In contrast, as America retreated from Vietnam, President Richard Nixon and his adviser Henry Kissinger seized the strategic initiative by opening relations with China and resetting the geopolitical chessboard to U.S. advantage."

Over the past five years, developing economies have been responsible for over two-thirds of global economic growth. Over the past decade, the share of developed-country exports bought by their developing partners has increased to almost 50% from 25%. In recent years China alone has consumed about half the world's cement, iron ore, steel, coal and lead, lifting commodity prices.