America is inextricably linked to Asia; whether through trade, investment, or immigration, the United States and Asia have been and will continue to be vital and lasting partners. The Heritage Foundation’s latest product, the 2014 Asia Update: What’s at Stake for America, visually represents the myriad of factors that make Asia so important for America.
Asia is home to two of the largest economies in the world, China and Japan. From 2010 to 2013, China’s economy almost doubled, growing from $5.9 trillion to $9.2 trillion. The sheer size of the Chinese economy has eclipsed Japan’s, and it is growing much faster, but their economy still does not come close to the U.S.’s $16.8 trillion economy.
As China’s economy has grown, the U.S. has become China’s top investment destination. China is not the only significant Asian investor in the U.S. Japanese investment is much more significant than Chinese, topping $342 billion in investment in the U.S. last year.
Asia doesn’t just contribute to the U.S. economy through trade and investment. Nearly 40 percent of immigrants to the U.S. are from Asia, and many of them are significant contributors to the American economy. Immigrants from India, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and China tend to work in high-skilled jobs in the fields of medicine, technology, and finance. Immigrants from India earn, on average, $100,000 or more in income.
This year, the Asia Update added new charts which, in addition to evaluating the state of political freedom in Asia, evaluated religious freedom and human rights guarantees. While religious freedom is promised to many in Asia, populations in the region, most notably in Afghanistan and Pakistan, continue to face extreme persecution for their faith. Other violations of basic rights include a prevalent human trafficking conundrum with an estimated 14 million victims of trafficking in India alone.
Political, social, and human rights challenges highlight the vital importance of promoting economic freedom. Asia is home to some of the most economically free nations and some of the least free. Hong Kong and Singapore, once again, topped the charts for economic freedom, while Burma and North Korea continue to be at the very bottom.
Walter Lohman, Director of the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation, notes:
Long before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared America’s “pivot” to the Pacific, the U.S. was deeply involved in the affairs of the region.… Americans know that it is in the long-term interest of liberty and our material interests that we remain principally and vigorously committed to Asia.
The U.S.’s continued engagement with Asia is not only beneficial to Asia’s economy, but for the U.S. economy, too. Strengthening and maintaining ties between the U.S. and Asia must continue to remain a lasting foreign policy priority.
