The US and major Western powers’ “political turn” brings both opportunities and challenges to China. The main challenge is the rise of trade and investment protectionism, resulting in increasing impediments to foreign trade and overseas investment. The main opportunity is that China may become the leader of international free trade earlier than anticipated, and China-led regional cooperation schemes, such as the RCEP, thus becomes more influential.

Expectations are high as leaders meet to promote strong trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and develop partnerships characterized by inter-connectivity, unity, consultation, development and shared benefits.

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.

Manila’s just-completed Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) consisted of two parts. The official summit agreed on the need to fight terrorism, enhance economic growth, reduce poverty and increase climate change resiliency. Unofficially, the huge political gulf between the U.S. and China over the South China Sea was on display.

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.

Philippine efforts to revisit the historical value of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade (MAGT) and China's revival of the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) can be seen as national projects aimed at rekindling a deep historical relationship with the sea. Growing Sino-Latin American trade may encourage an extension of the MSR across the Pacific and also reignite the importance of MAGT.

Asian states will look at potential partners around the Pacific Rim and determine if they are ready to walk the walk or simply talk the talk. So far the lesson of Canada and Australia is that walking the walk requires sustained, strategic commitment, but has a big potential payoff. Australia has been taking concrete steps to solidify its relationship with Asia; Canada has been talking about it, and is only now starting to put into place an engagement program with substance.

As the two largest economies, China and the U.S. are trying to formulate a new-type of major-country relationship. The establishment of a free trade area should be an integral part of such relationship. This will be a challenging mission, but the rewards will be tremendous.

While the TPP is not attractive to several APEC economies because of its U.S. dominance, the proposed FTAAP, which embraces all of the 21 APEC economies, is meant to be an all-inclusive, all-win trade initiative that represents the largest single trade liberalization in history.