President Obama traveled to Asia last week and returned, to the delight of his critics, without concessions from the Chinese on climate change, human rights and trade issues. Though Obama appeared to fly back empty-handed, the trip ended up being a long-term success for U.S. foreign policy goals in the region.

During the Bush years, America largely turned its back on issues relating to China and the broader Pacific region. Mired in two wars in the Middle East, the US was content to let the continent largely do its own thing, while China financed the war debt the Bush administration ran up. While it may be too much for Obama to claim that he is the “first Pacific president,” his trip demonstrates his seriousness about confronting a multi-polar world in which China, Japan, Korea and other East Asian states are key players. As the first president to have lived in Asia, Obama does bring a unique understanding of the region’s issues.

By visiting the region in the first year of his presidency, Obama has begun to lay the groundwork for the U.S. to take a more active role in East Asian affairs. It’s unrealistic to believe that Obama could just show up in China, Japan and South Korea and exact concessions on polarizing defense, economic, environmental and human rights issues. Developing a rapport with foreign leaders is essential down the road for making progress ­— a piece of wisdom that Reagan understood with Gorbachev, for example.

With new leadership in both South Korea and Japan, it was vital for the U.S. to feel out the inevitable shifts in policy. While South Korea inaugurated a very pro-American administration that will take a harder line on North Korea than the previous one, Japan recently elected a government much more skeptical of the United States’ role in the region. In visiting these countries early on, Obama shows his commitment to listening to foreign leaders that his predecessor often utterly lacked.

China, however, will be the real challenge for the administration in the region. Relations with China are not merely a matter of foreign policy, but domestic policy as well.

The reason for this has to do with the widespread Chinese investment in U.S. government bonds. The Chinese have consistently bought U.S. Treasury bonds in order to keep their own currency artificially low, in the process financing both the U.S. government debt and the debt of the American consumers. These investments have had the consequence of making China America’s creditor; for this reason, they are every bit as skeptical of more U.S. government spending as any Republican senator.

Therefore, Obama and the Chinese leadership did not just talk about climate change, human rights and Taiwan; they also discussed health-care reform. It’s interesting that as Obama took flak from some on the left and the right for not being in Washington to lead the debate on the Senate health-care bill, Obama took the argument to the folks who probably will actually end up paying for the cost of the program.

Obama also succeeded in a limited public relations push to introduce himself and reinvent America to the Chinese people. He engaged in a town-hall meeting where he voiced support for political freedoms for the Chinese people. Aside from an Obama-Mao T-shirt snafu (in which a vendor hawking “Oba Mao” T-shirts with both individuals’ faces on the front was instructed to stop selling his wares immediately), Obama succeeded in presenting the U.S. well, showing cultural sensitivity and a keen interest in Chinese history.

The result of the trip will manifest in more political capital for Obama in future years to spend on the issues which critics allege Obama failed to press in China. A popular U.S. president who prioritizes the region will have the ability to bring China in line with the growing consensus on capping carbon emissions, containing Iran and upholding the dignity of its citizens.

Obama’s conciliatory approach has already borne fruit elsewhere. For example, the Russians agreed at a summit in Singapore during the very same trip to take a more confrontational stance towards Iran. This would not have been possible if not for the ‘reset’ strategy pursued by President Obama and Sec. of State Hillary Clinton. The continued application of serious diplomacy represents a step forward for American interests and reputation abroad.

In the 24-hour news cycle, banking on the future may seem risky. But in a world of no perfect choices, diplomacy seems the most promising track for the administration to follow. If nothing else, it’s at least a much needed change from the previous eight years of neglect.

Adam McCall is a College sophomore from Acton, Mass. He is the speaker of the Student Government Association.