Obama pledges greater U.S. engagement in Asia

By Patricia Zengerle and Caren Bohan

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama pledged Saturday to deepen dialogue with China rather than seek to contain the rising power, as he laid out a vision for greater engagement with a vibrant Asia-Pacific region.

Calling himself "America's first Pacific President," Hawaii-born Obama signalled his commitment to the region, but gave no new specifics on how to reinvigorate a U.S. trade agenda many see as stalled.

Obama reaffirmed Washington's decades-old alliance with Japan, its most important ally in the region, strained lately by a dispute over a U.S. military base and questions about the future of the ties as both countries adapt to a rising China.

"But while our commitment to this region begins in Japan, it does not end here," Obama said in a speech to 1,500 people in the Japanese capital, his first stop on a nine-day Asian tour.

"So I want every American to know that we have a stake in the future of this region. This is where we engage in much of our commerce and buy many of our goods.

"And this is where we can export more of our own products and create jobs back home in the process," Obama said.

The U.S. president, who was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia and enjoyed green tea-flavoured ice cream when he visited Japan as a young boy, said the Pacific Rim had shaped his world view.

He welcomed Beijing's growing global role but said its increased economic clout came with growing responsibility.