Members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)are seeking to move forward with the trade agreementafter the United States withdrew.President Donald Trump signed an executive order Mondaypulling the United States out of the TPP.Leaders from some TPP nations pledged Tuesday to make attemptsto continue the agreement even without the U.S.Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull saidhe had discussed the TPP's future with the leaders of Japan, Singapore and New Zealand.He told reporters that while the U.S. leaving was clearly "a big loss,"he is hopeful the trade deal will survive.The United States negotiated the TPPunder former President Barack Obama.But the deal faced opposition in the U.S. Congress,which never approved the deal.Turnbull added that with America now out of the agreement,"Certainly there is potential for China to join the TPP."The Obama administration had said one goal of the TPPwas to counter China's growing regional influence in the Asia-Pacific.In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokeswomanwould not say whether China would now attempt to join the TPP.She said China believes that all nations "should keep going down the path of open,inclusive, continuous" economic development.In the past, China has proposed an alternative to the TPP,a trade group called the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP).The foreign ministry spokeswoman said efforts to form the FTAAP should now be increased.China has also supported another group,the Southeast Asian-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).Analysts say other nations may now seek to join alternative trade agreementsto take advantage of the U.S. withdrawal from the TPP.Trump's rejection of the TPP was expected.He repeatedly condemned the agreement during his presidential campaign,saying it was not a fair trade deal for America.Trump has said he favors one-on-one agreements with other nationsrather than multinational deals like the TPP.Carl Thayer is a political scientist at Australia's University of New South Wales.He said he believes America's withdrawal from the TPPwill greatly reduce Washington's influence in the region."At the moment he (Trump) has given away multilateral (agreements)so the U.S. has no longer a leadership role using the economic lever in Southeast Asia."There are 11 remaining TPP members,including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.The others are Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Brunei.A Malaysian government trade official saidthe remaining TPP countries would meet in the near futureto discuss what steps to take next.The official said there are still "many possibilities"for the remaining 11 nations to push ahead with the TPP.Last week, Japan's parliament approved the TPP.But Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said that without the U.S., it would become "meaningless."On Tuesday, Abe told lawmakers during a parliamentary debatehe still had hope that Trump might change his position.He said he plans to seek Trump's "understanding" on the importance of the TPP.Abe added that he plans to meet with Trump as soon as possible.