[aey]

Pivot to the pacific was an Obama initiative that was loooong in the making.

It doesn’t matter who drives the train, the tracks are already laid.

[jariel]

It matters hugely.

Obama's pivot was based on TTP, and generally avoiding direct confrontation with China.

Trump's agenda is completely different - ignoring partnership/bilateral approach, and fairly assertively acting against China.

But those were also strategies founded in different eras: the TTP was create back when China was still not quite powerful enough to be a dangerous world actor. Now it's more of a 'standoff' situation with unpredictable leadership from Trump.

And with only a 4 year horizon after which 'everything changes' on the American side.

[starfallg]

The TTP is in fact direct confrontation, just not overt.

[starfallg]

Yup, it was Trump that tantrumed out of the TPP, which was created as a firewall to China. Because of this, China has been growing increasingly confident, sensing the weakness in this administration and its inability to play geopolitics properly.