Opinion | China looks to deepen regional integration via CPTPP as US rivalry grows
- President Xi Jinping says China is considering joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement
- It marks a significant shift in Beijing’s attitude, after watching warily from the sidelines as the US-led trade pact was first negotiated
China is trying to turn a strategic threat into an asset in its rivalry with the United States by publicly stating it wants to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP).
President Xi Jinping told Asia-Pacific leaders last week that China was “actively considering” joining the trade pact. It showed Beijing has made up its mind that obtaining membership to the CPTPP – which replaced the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after the US pulled out – or even engaging in discussion about joining, will do more good than harm.
It marks a significant shift in Beijing’s attitude. China watched warily from the sidelines as negotiations for the US-led Asia-Pacific trade pact began in 2009 under the Obama administration.
When the TPP was finally signed by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the US in 2016, Beijing was uncomfortable at the prospect of being marginalised in future regional trade.
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