Political leaders around the world are still taking stock of their options as U.S. trade policies evolve under the new administration in Washington. Perhaps nowhere is this more true than in East Asia, where, despite the almost certain demise of the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) , several of its backers are continuing to try to save it. Some of the most stalwart supporters of the deal, which originally was intended in part to contain China's growing influence in the Asia-Pacific, have even brought alternative proposals to the table as they scramble to adjust their economic strategies to the wave of protectionism rising in the West. But the hunt for new trade opportunities has also brought some Southeast Asian states to China's doorstep.