Trump has articulated a vision for the Indo-Pacific. Has he thought it through?

Since President Trump's election, we have seen a tumultuous trade relationship between the United States and China, complete with everything from bitter politics to extravagant flattery. This week, of course, was no different. Despite the recent high-point in the bilateral trade relationship.

The resurgence of China creates opportunities for partnership in delivering public goods and sharing the burden of maintaining the global economic and security order. However, China’s rise also brings challenges to traditional U.S. primacy and leadership, especially if such leadership cannot be shared.

Today, the specter of a destabilizing power imbalance looms large in the world’s most dynamic region. In this light, close strategic collaboration among the major democracies can help institute power stability in the Indo-Pacific region and contain the challenges that threaten to disrupt stability and impede economic growth.

U.S. officials sometimes appear mystified at Beijing’s refusal to enthusiastically adopt America’s perspective toward the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. They should flip the situation around and think of Mexico. Would Washington accept a Chinese demand that might cause the collapse of the Mexican government, creating the possibility of civil war, loose nuclear weapons, humanitarian crisis, and mass refugee flows?

A reasonable progression could be from a “neighborhood community with a shared destiny” to “an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future”, to a “community with a shared future for mankind”.

Due to various causes, China’s strategic posture in East Asia and the western Pacific after Xi Jinping became China’s top leader again. However, China’s strategic behavior in the same region began to moderate as situation shifted both at home and internationally. This trend started even before Donald Trump’ election as the U.S. president.

China and the U.S. should seize on the positive momentum to build a stable long-term relationship.

Trump's view that his visit to Beijing had led to a policy pivot was further undermined when on Thursday it was announced that China would stick by its "freeze-for freeze" proposal to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

President Trump has faced persistent criticism for what many see as his administration's lack of an Asia policy, but during his trip to Asia, he hinted at what might become the seeds of a new American strategy: a focus on the "Indo Pacific" as opposed to the "Asia Pacific."