US and Russia on board for East Asia Summit

BEIJING - As the United States and Russia plan to make their debut appearances at the East Asia Summit on Friday, various reports are predicting that a far-reaching geopolitical change will occur in the region.

Some experts, though, note that both countries lack strong business ties to the region and have placed their priorities for foreign policy elsewhere. For that reason, they say it is unlikely the US and Russia will try to use the forum as a way to influence the form that cooperation takes in East Asia.

"Southeast Asian nations are well aware that the US is just taking a high tone in saying it is paying more attention to East Asia, rather than taking steps such as directing more business investments there or taking up serious responsibilities," said Sun Zhe, director of Tsinghua University's center for China-US relations.