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Analysis: Leadership changes in Asia set to shape policy of next US president
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Changes could be in store for U.S.-Asian relations, but that has little to do with presidential race. Lost in the backbiting between President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney over China is that they generally agree on their approaches to Asia. But whoever wins the Nov. 6 vote will have to deal with a region in flux -- and figure out how to keep simmering tensions from boiling over.
• Leadership changes are imminent in East Asia's dominant economies -- China, Japan and South Korea -- in the midst of territorial disputes that could spark conflict. The new leaders who emerge will be crucial in setting the tone for relations with the next occupant of the White House.
• Just two days after the U.S. election, China begins its once-in-a-decade Communist Party Congress that will usher in a new crop of party leaders. Japan within months is expected to hold elections, as the popularity of the country's seventh prime minister in seven years sinks. And in December, South Korea holds presidential elections that are likely to set it on a more conciliatory track in its relations with North Korea.
• How the U.S. gets on with China affects the entire region. Many Asian countries look to China as their main trading partner, but they regard the longstanding U.S. security presence as a defense against China's rapid military buildup.
• Xi Jinping, who will take the party helm and be anointed China's president in March, is a largely unknown quantity. Some suggest his elite background, military ties and confident air might portend a more assertive hand in foreign policy than the incumbent, Hu Jintao.
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Internal emails shed light on close relationship between VP nominee Ryan, Wisconsin's governor
• MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Rising political stars and personal friends, Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker worked quietly behind the scenes to coordinate public policy, avoid each other's limelight and steer clear of political minefields that would haunt their campaigns, according to more than 1,000 pages of internal emails obtained by The Associated Press. But there was at least one pointed snub between them, too.
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