Opinion | Pacific trade vitality shows multilateralism is alive and well

For much of the post-war era, the architecture of global governance rested on the simple assumption that the United States would support the systems it largely designed and uphold the rules it helped to create.

Yet the retreat of one great power does not mean the collapse of globalisation or multilateralism. Instead, the torch has passed to middle powers who are coming together in flexible formations to sustain the institutions that underpin globalisation and multilateralism.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed this critical juncture at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, where he laid to rest hopes of a return to normal. He argued, quite rightly, that countries must increasingly build flexible forms of cooperation rather than rely solely on rigid ideological blocs.

Instead, a coalition of middle powers, including Japan, Canada, Australia and other economies, rallied to save it in a revealing experiment in middle-power leadership. The agreement’s constituent economies account for roughly 15 per cent of global gross domestic product and represent some of the most dynamic trading nations in the Asia-Pacific, and it now includes the United Kingdom.