The United States and Japan sought to reinvigorate their 70-year-old alliance in the face of China's ever-increasing clout Tuesday, as President Barack Obama welcomed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the White House.

Hailing the alliance as the "cornerstone" of security in the Asia-Pacific, the two countries vowed to counter threats to the "international order" by forging a bumper trade deal and through an expanded security role for long-pacifist Japan.