2- evidence of China's "autistic, militaristic, national mindset" is that China is in protracted conflict with nearly all its maritime neighbors. And China builds on contested islands. And China enforced an air "bubble" out of all international treaties where it requests all aircraft to report to it. That kind of assertion of might can very easily degenerate.
1- evidence in the case of Russia is Crimea + the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
3- "China's power within their sphere of influence (and beyond) cannot be contained by a trade agreement" is a sentence I contest. It takes a carrot and a stick to make a stubborn donkey move. The Chinese generals can be moved by carrots despite what the article says.
4- I think Obama is correct for two reasons of track record: that of large properous free trade zones in the past (Roman Empire, Caliphate, China) and because he has a rather good track record of steering the economy and international relations.
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