China said Singapore “welcomes and supports” its bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) following a phone call between the two nations’ leaders. The Chinese foreign ministry said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had told President Xi Jinping that the move would be “conducive to regional prosperity and development” during Friday’s conversation. Beijing officially applied to join the trade pact in a bid to boost its economic clout in the region late last month. China’s bid to join trade pact ‘may fail, but has benefits’ Days later Taiwan also asked to join , angering Beijing which regards the island as a breakaway province and strongly opposes its membership of international organisations. Singapore, which will take over from Japan as the chair of the CPTPP commission next year, will play a key role in the approval process. Originally known as Trans-Pacific Partnership, the deal was once promoted by the United States as an economic counterweight to China’s growing influence, but was put on hold in early 2017 after Donald Trump withdrew from the pact. The revised deal – whose members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam – accounts for around 13.5 per cent of the global economy. Post Brexit Britain is also keen to join and began negotiations in June. In response to China’s bid, Japanese economic policy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said there is a need to determine whether it can meet the “extremely high standards” needed to join. China needs the support of all members to join the group. Its bid is likely to meet opposition from Australia, which has seen its relationship with China deteriorate sharply in recent years . Malaysia, another CPTPP member, has already expressed its support for China. Taiwan applies to join Pacific trade pact CPTPP Singapore’s position has been more cautious. Its trade ministry said it welcomed any economy that was willing and able to meet the pact’s high standards expressing an interest in joining. A statement from the Singapore foreign ministry did not explicitly support China’s application and said only that the two leaders had “exchanged views on regional and international developments”. “Prime Minister Lee and President Xi discussed ways to strengthen economic recovery through enhancing collaboration on cross-border and supply chain connectivity, as well as in trade, investment, smart cities and climate change . They also welcomed greater cooperation on emerging areas such as the green economy and the digital economy.” According to the Chinese statement, Xi said the two nations share the same values and interests on some major issues including “upholding multilateralism and common development”. Xi also said the two countries should maintain high-level engagement and strategic communication, enhancing cooperation on border exchanges, pandemic control and vaccines, the digital economy, green finance and climate change . “The international environment has experienced major changes. But the Singapore-China relationship has maintained positive momentum,” said Xi. The Friday phone call also comes amid growing geopolitical uncertainties following the formation of a new security partnership among Australia, the UK, and the US, known as Aukus. China points finger at Aukus as it rallies support to join CPTPP The pact has drawn mixed response among Southeast Asian countries, with some warning that the deal could provoke a regional arms race and intensify rivalry among the powers. Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has previously said Singapore does not have “undue anxieties” about the new security partnership, which could have potential benefits for peace and stability in the region.