At the time of this writing, the United States seems to be pushing itself to the brink of a trade war with China. The timing couldn’t be worse. China’s economic growth over the past twenty years has led to greater stability throughout the region, new economic ties, and less dependence on trade with the West. Should punishing U.S. tariffs lead to less U.S./China trade, regional trade will almost certainly increase, leaving the U.S. out of a thriving market. Keep in mind that the Trans-Pacific Partnership was an existing, regional organization before the U.S. ever joined the negotiations.A Changing World OrderBoth the U.S. and China have so much to lose from a trade war that they are incentivized to avoid serious escalation.A full U.S. withdrawal could have the effect of ceding more of the region to Chinese economic dominance. In this scenario, Asian countries would find ways to trade more with each other.The general trend of the U.S. becoming less central to economic and political ...