Facing down both the task of reacquainting himself with Harvard as well as continued speaking engagements around the globe, University president-elect Lawrence H. Summers has had little time to catch his breath lately.

Summers, a fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institute, traveled to China last week. There he addressed the Development Research Council, a Beijing think tank. He continued on to Hong Kong.

Today, Summers leaves for Japan, where he is scheduled to meet with Japanese business leaders, economists and government officials.

And Summers has already made one trip to Cambridge to meet with senior University officials, including Kennedy School of Government Dean Joseph S. Nye. A meeting with faculty and students will be scheduled for mid-April.

A colleague who traveled with Summers said that high-ranking officials in both Beijing and Hong Kong were very excited to hear of the selection of Summers as the University’s 27th president.

“Senior government officials were very enthusiastic about the appointment,” the colleague said. “China’s Premier Zhou Rongji joked with Larry that the last time he came to Boston he visited MIT, but that the next time he’d have to come to Harvard.”

Almost all of the senior government officials said they were interested in visiting Harvard.

But whether halfway around the world or at the water cooler at the economics department of Brookings, Summers’ new Harvard job continues to draw attention.