Baker Heads for Meetings in Japan, Korea and China
Secretary of State James A. Baker III, preoccupied for most of 1991 with revolutionary change in Europe and the Middle East, began an eight-day trip Saturday to Asia.
Baker’s trip to Japan, South Korea and China is of heightened significance since President Bush announced that he was postponing his own trip to the region for domestic reasons.
Although the three nations are eager for Baker’s visit, critics say the Bush Administration has neglected the economically vital region.
Baker will be the senior U.S. official to meet new Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa of Japan, which is the first stop on his itinerary.
He will be in Seoul from Tuesday to Thursday to attend the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation, a regional trade forum working on a successful outcome to the Uruguay Round of free-trade talks.
Baker goes to Beijing on Friday, and he will be the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit since the Chinese army killed hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators in June, 1989.
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