China’s interest in trans-Pacific trade deal met with scepticism by those who helped negotiate it
- China’s Premier Li Keqiang voiced openness to joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
- Negotiators sense ‘a bit of mischief’ in wanting to ‘stick it to the US’ without making required changes to its state-led economy, including state-owned enterprises
A series of high profile officials in Beijing have recently voiced openness about China joining a trans-Pacific trade pact abandoned by the United States in one of the first acts of Donald Trump’s presidency.
But those who negotiated the agreement are united in their cynicism towards China’s expressions of interest.
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Beijing has not yet registered formal or even informal interest with the current 11 members of the CPTPP, according to senior sources in New Zealand and Mexico, the agreement’s depository member – the party with whom membership interest would have been registered – and convening member for 2020 – the annual host which would have to convene members to discuss new interest – respectively, who would be notified of any efforts by Beijing to sound out members.
“We have not heard directly from China”, said one senior Mexican official, who did not wish to be identified.