Mumbai:
US President Barack Obama, fresh off a stinging electoral defeat for the Democrats, opened a 10-day tour of Asia on Saturday with a courtship of corporate America, including private meetings with business executives and an announcement that he will lift longstanding restrictions on American exports of closely held technologies to India.
After an election season dominated by voter dissatisfaction with his management of the economy, the president is casting the four-nation trip, which will also take him to Indonesia, South Korea and Japan, as an economic mission, with a heavy emphasis on creating jobs and opening foreign markets to American goods.
He hopes to come home from South Korea, for instance, with a renegotiated free trade deal, and trade was high on his agenda here. His move to ease so called "dual use" restrictions, which bar American export of technologies that might be used to build weapons, has been a high priority for companies here and in the United States.
"As we look to India today, the United States sees an opportunity to sell our exports in one of the fastest-growing markets in the world," Mr. Obama told a gathering of political leaders and Indian and American executives. "For America, this is a jobs strategy."
India has long sought a loosening of the export restrictions more for political reasons than economic ones -- the country did not want to be viewed as a rogue state -- and the move is part of a bid to strengthen relations with India.
But the trip, Mr. Obama's first extended foray overseas this year, is also an attempt to ease tensions with America's chief executives, many of whom spent the recent campaign accusing the White House of being antibusiness -- and pouring money into the coffers of Republican candidates and groups that aimed to defeat the Democrats. More than 200 American executives timed a business conference to coincide with Mr. Obama's arrival in Mumbai -- and the president reciprocated by showering them with attention.
The chief executive officer of Boeing, Jim McNerney, who also leads the President's Export Council, greeted Mr. Obama when Air Force One touched down, and was rewarded with a ride downtown aboard the presidential helicopter. Later, Mr. Obama met privately with American chief executives, among them Jeffrey R. Immelt of General Electric, who has been critical of the White House in the past.
"It's unprecedented," Mr. Immelt said in an interview, praising Mr. Obama for talking up trade, a politically risky move for a Democrat. "I don't remember President Bush ever having a mission like this. I think it's quite rare and I hope the first of many."
The White House also announced that, as part of the trip, American and Indian companies signed or are about to sign 20 deals worth about $10 billion that will help create more than 50,000 jobs in the United States. Many of those deals, however, have been in negotiations for some time and some, like Boeing's sale of C-17 cargo planes have yet to be finalized in spite of 11th hour negotiations between Indian and American officials in the days leading up to Mr. Obama's arrival.
Mr. Obama determined early on that his predecessor had not paid enough attention to Asia, and it is no coincidence that the four countries Mr. Obama is visiting are all democracies. It is also no coincidence that China is not on the agenda; by building ties with emerging economies, like India and Indonesia, and strengthening them with longtime allies like South Korea and Japan, the administration hopes to dilute China's power in the region.
"The United States sees Asia and especially India as a market of the future," the president said in a speech to the U.S.-India Business Council. "We don't simply welcome your rise as a nation and people, we ardently support it. We want to invest in it."
In the afternoon, Mr. Obama met with a group of 25 Indian executives, including entrepreneurs who are working on start-ups involved in electric cars and water purifying companies. Mr. Obama told the group that he wanted to hear from them about new ideas that could help create jobs in the United States and emerging markets like India, said Shaffi Mather, a young Indian businessman who attended the meeting.
"He spoke in the background of the electoral pressures," Mr. Mather said, "but he still clearly set the goal of economic growth not only of the U.S. but also of India."
India, of course, is a delicate place for Mr. Obama to talk about jobs, given American concerns about outsourcing. As a candidate, Mr. Obama often lamented the tax incentives and lack of educational opportunities in the United States that, as he liked to say, forced children from Boston to compete for jobs with children from Bangalore. Here in Mumbai, he steered clear of the Boston-Bangalore analogy, as he made the case that investment overseas can create jobs at home.
"There still exists a caricature of India as a land of call centers and back offices that cost American jobs," Mr. Obama said. "That's a real perception. But these old stereotypes, these old concerns ignore today's reality: In 2010, trade between our countries is not just a one-way street of American jobs and companies moving to India. It is a dynamic, two-way relationship that is creating jobs, growth, and higher living standards in both our countries."
Mr. Obama began his day here on a somber and symbolic note, by paying respects to the victims of the 2008 terrorist attacks here. Soon after Air Force One touched down, Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, headed to the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, which bore the brunt of the attacks on Nov. 26, 2008.
The president and his entourage are staying at the hotel, which is home to a memorial for the more than 170 people killed during the highly coordinated attacks over four days.
"To those who have asked whether this is intended to send a message, my answer is, simply, absolutely," Mr. Obama said, after he and Mrs. Obama signed a guest book at the memorial and met briefly with victims of the attacks. "Ever since those horrific days two years ago, The Taj has been the symbol of the strength and resilience of the Indian people. So we use our visit here to send a very clear message that in our determination to give our people a future of security and prosperity, the United States and India stand united."
Mr. Obama expressed similar sentiments in the guest book, writing: "We will always remember the events of 26/11; not only the sorrow, but also the courage and humanity that was displayed that day. The United States stands in solidarity with all of Mumbai and all of India in working to eradicate the scourge of terrorism, and we affirm our lasting friendship with the Indian people."
He signed his name and the date; Mrs. Obama signed her name next to his. Each left behind a white rose.