U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says America needs to put economic issues at the heart of its foreign policy, and reach across the Pacific to build stronger ties with Asia.

In a speech prepared for delivery Friday at the Economic Club in New York City, Clinton will tell business leaders America is facing a world where power will be determined more by economic rather than military might. She will also say the strong cross-Atlantic ties Washington has forged with Europe must be duplicated with the Asian region.

Patrick Chovanec, an economics professor at Beijing's Tsinghua University, tells VOA that Clinton's planned remarks represent a renewed U.S. emphasis on Asia, especially in light of China's growing economic status and its territorial ambitions in the Pacific Rim.

Clinton will also stress that the merger of economic and foreign policy must be applied to the changing situation in the Middle East, saying “the Arab political awakening must also be an economic awakening.”