Obama's Asia tour aims to bolster ties with region

Washington

US president Barack Obama will fly to Asia after midnight on Sunday for an eight-day tour of China, Myanmar and Australia, a trip that will focus on Washington's often tense relations with China.

The China stop will be dominated by Mr Obama's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where the White House said that it expects "candid and in-depth conversations". The relationship between the two superpowers, which US Secretary of State John Kerry has called the "most consequential" in the world today, has been marred by tension over the South China Sea, cyberspying and human rights issues.