Putting the TPP and trade in context “… and when the flashpoints of today have passed, the rise of Asia will remain the dominant trend of our time. In just 10 years, according to the world bank, four of the five largest economies of the world will be in the Asia-Pacific” The most important part of America’s attempt at containing a resurgent China according to Kurt Campbell, the State Department’s former top Asia man, is “Trade. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is the sine qua non of Washington’s pivot to Asia… It writes the rules of the 21st century in ways that are fundamentally pro-America.” Fareed Zakaria notes that otherwise, it will be China writing the rules.
