When Emma started her morning reviewing European markets and reports, she sensed a breeze of change in the analytics. The European Commission had just announced its intention to begin negotiations on joining the CPTPP. It sounded like 'That's who I am — if you don't want me in America, I'll go to Asia,' but in diplomatic terms. Emma worked as an analyst at a Brussels think tank. For the past two years, she had observed Europe, like a bride rejected by a rude suitor, increasingly looking to the East. Investors complained about Washington’s unpredictability, tariff wars, defense budget pressure, and unfair competition. Asia, by contrast, offered scale, population, and above all — predictability. That day her screen also displayed another message: a speech by Jamie Dimon. As always, he spoke bluntly — Europe is falling behind. Once its GDP was nearly equal to America's. Now — 65%. 'We're losing,' he said. Emma closed her browser. The forecasts were becoming alarming. That evening, at an informal gathering of analysts and diplomats, she heard a Luxembourg minister say: 'If the US keeps seeing us as subordinates, we’ll build a bridge toward Asia. And you know what? They’re waiting for us.' The next morning, Emma was on a flight to Tokyo. She had been invited to lecture at Todai on 'New Axes of Global Trade.' The plane flew over Siberia, and endless forests and tundras stretched beyond the window. Asia began here — past the Urals. Graphs, quotes, forecasts spun in her mind. Europe is turning — not out of despair, but calculation. At the conference in Japan, she was attentively listened to. Delegates from South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia. All ready to offer markets, resources, cooperation. Europe no longer seemed like an arrogant old woman, but rather a strategic partner. When she returned to Brussels, her colleague said: 'We’ve changed. It doesn’t matter whether we’re called West or East. What matters is where we’re headed.' Emma smiled, 'And we’re going where we’re respected.'