Ultimately, the regional order is shaped by economic relations. The current cooperation structure accommodates the interests and comfort levels of multiple parties, and opens up new space for compromise and dynamic balance through mutual adaptation and acceptance. China has gained invaluable experience in neighborhood diplomacy, and the country’s neighbors have gradually gotten used to China's rise.

Let’s seize this opportunity, pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership and make sure America isn’t holding the bag, but holding the pen.

Once the US-European free-trade agreement is reached, the agreement will cover half of the global economic output and will include commodities and services worth of nearly $1 trillion, accounting for over one-third of total world trade.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, one of the world's biggest multinational trade deals, was signed by 12 member nations on Thursday in New Zealand, but the massive trade pact will still require years of tough negotiations before it becomes a reality.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Thursday the country will actively participate in and push forward regional free trade arrangements that feature high-degree transparency, openness and inclusiveness.

The push for inclusive approaches and development reflects honest commitment to advancing economic cooperation with open mechanisms and flexible pathways. Non-economic issues such as the global fight against terrorism can be addressed with similarly pragmatic and honest approaches.

APEC 2015 ended with a vow to combat terrorism, yet the Summit refused to be distracted from its true goal – economic development. In the coming years, the United States, China, and the Association of Southeast Nations must compromise if they truly want to invest in both regional peace and economic development.

A free-trade agreement for the Asia-Pacific would capitalize on the capabilities and the diversity of APEC countries. As broached by China in 1996, an open economy in the Asia-Pacific is a step toward common development, prosperity and progress for the whole region.

The free-trade deal seems more firmly rooted in politics than economics, lacking both fairness and transparency, and that doesn’t bode well for a harmonious world order.

For those who oppose the TPP, much as been made of the secret nature in which the treaty was negotiated. Walker Rowe summarizes some major sectors that will be affect by the treaty, and thus trying to influence a rather fractured and unpopular trade agreement.