China renews interest in trans-Pacific trade pact that followed TPP amid escalating US tensions
- Premier Li Keqiang said last week that China was willing to consider joining the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP)
- CPTPP is a trade agreement, signed in March 2018, between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam
China again expressed its willingness to join an 11-nation Pacific region trade pact on Thursday amid escalating tensions with the United States.
Last week, Premier Li Keqiang said that China was willing to consider joining the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP), a deal which emerged after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the original Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in January 2017.
“For regional free trade agreements, including CPTPP, China has a positive, open and welcoming attitude,” said Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng, citing the fact that agreements like the CPTPP are in line with World Trade Organisation rules as a key factor.
China’s ability to join the CPTPP is still seen as a long shot, since Beijing would find it hard to meet a number of the pact’s requirements, including the free flow of information and minimum labour standards.