US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said ‘hello Asia’ on her maiden foreign tour.

Her first port of call was Tokyo where she received the news about ‘Swat Deal’.

She visited Korea, Indonesia and China before returning home.  She did not cross the Bay of Bengal or Indian Ocean.

She was well received wherever she went as she was not lecturing and instead was listening. 

The China visit brought into focus the usual flip-side of Washington’s policy. Clinton voiced concern for China’s human rights record as another proforma exercise.

If she wanted US to be recognised as a ‘smart power’, that was nowhere on display, certainly in her interactio with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao at the Great Hall of People.