The Chinese government officially submitted a written application to enter the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on September 16.
Effective from December 30, 2018, the CPTPP is a free trade agreement between 11 countries, including Japan, Australia, Canada and Singapore, though the US withdrew from the previous TransPacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) in 2017. Entry to the CPTPP, according to Zhang Jianping, director of the Regional Economy Research Center under the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, in an interview with the National Business Daily, is a necessary route for China to promote globalization and integration of the Asia-Pacific economy.
China signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with 15 countries on November 15, 2020. Analysts believe that entry to the CPTPP will help upgrade industrial chains and allow more opportunities to develop the digital economy and high-tech industries and services.
Given China’s application came one day after the US, Britain and Australia set up AUKUS, a trilateral security alliance on submarine technology, some Western analysts speculated China may intend to develop trade relationships with the US’s allies and partners by entering the CPTPP.
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