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.

A Greek exit from the EU would lead to increased instability in Europe. Yet, it may present opportunity for China, the U.S. EU, and IMF to engage together in a summit to safeguard the stability of the Eurozone and shape a global norm on tax evasion and tax heavens that have adversely affected insolvent states like Greece.

President Obama’s sixth State of the Union (SOTU) address was heavy on domestic policy and light on foreign policy. The president did not talk much about recent progress in the US-Chinese relations. Instead, he focused on the urgency to complete the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement – without China. There is a reason to the omission and the focus: the Obama White House is increasingly concerned over its legacy.

The “Pivot to Asia” policy has been primarily driven by cold war and military conceptions of containing China’s rise. President Obama’s recent State of the Union speech kept with a distinctly American theme of soft-imperialism with mention of “writing the rules” to free trade agreements in Asia, instead of acknowledging China’s own sovereignty.

As policymakers and pundits are excited about increased openness to American investments in China in the future, social and political tensions that grew with America’s investments in China in the past fifteen years, however, are little noted, and especially not recognized is the role that China’s diaspora played in FDI.

In 2013, the Sino-US relations ended with concern over strategic mistrust. In 2014, bilateral relations were characterized by a sense of optimism. While bilateral trust may endure through the Obama era, challenges will ensue thereafter.

After several years of drift and decline, the US-China relationship ended 2014 modestly improved. The central task going into a new year is to build on this new momentum to strengthen the foundation of the relationship, build strategic trust, and work in tandem (or in parallel) on global issues of mutual concern.

China has two key challenges in the years ahead. The first is to build a new, global rules-based system with the other major world power, the United States, that supplants the post-WWII order.

Xi-Obama meetings following the APEC summit helped spur new topics and commitments to bilateral cooperation, most notably with the creation of an impactful new climate treaty. Yu Xiang discusses new international issues – responding to Ebola, IS, and a military reporting mechanism – for extending Sino-U.S. cooperation.

The initiatives and enormous investments turned the APEC meeting in Beijing from a “talk shop” to one of action. Han Liqun stresses that all APEC member economies should be fully confident in building an open and liberal economic and trade environment in the Asia-Pacific.