More Carrots, Fewer Sticks (CHINA)

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been busy mending fences with the rest of the world.

She has traveled widely to East Asia, the Middle East and Europe since taking office last month, after the Bush administration left a slew of diplomatic problems.

The US is now actively rebuilding its image overseas. In a new foreign policy based on "smart power", the Obama administration wants to stress diplomacy and development as much as defense to revive the US standing in the world.

With Washington seeking to "reset" relations with Russia, NATO announced it would restore full diplomatic ties with Moscow. Although "reset" was misspelled as "overcharge" in Russian on the symbolic gift - a red button - Clinton gave her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, the gift underscored the US's friendly gesture.

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