U.S. muscle, money, influence pivoting to Asia, Obama says at G20

U.S. President Obama opened his appearance at the G20 summit of world leaders in Australia with a speech that had to make Beijing think.

 

The United States is a big part of the power balance in Asia and plans to throw more of its weight onto the scale, the president told a crowd at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.

 

"We will continue to deepen our engagement using every element of American power -- diplomacy, military, economic, development, the power of our values and ideals," he said.

And the United States will band together with nations in the region. It will work toward giving them more heft -- so that big nations do not "bully the small," Obama said.