Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ambassador, thank you for your clear and concise insights. As we've discussed over the past year, the U.S. withdrawal certainly creates a void, but it is one that should not interfere with TPP 2.0. I welcome some of the comments you made here. I've underscored them, and if I have time, I'll run through them again.
There's a lot more at stake than just the furthering of a TPP-like model. I think you'll agree that the ambitions that are outlined in TPP are far broader and more expansive than you would get in any bilateral agreement.
I also would like your viewpoint on the geopolitics behind this. With the U.S. withdrawing, I see a lot more interest from China to push further into countries that are involved in TPP without the Americans there to balance off that push. I'm wondering if you see the same thing and how important it is that we continue on in light of that.