Before America returns… China, application to join CPTPP

China has officially applied for accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Experts analyzed that the US was taking steps to increase influence among member countries before returning to the CPTPP.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on the night of the 16th that Commerce Minister Wang Wentao had submitted an application to New Zealand Trade Minister Damien O’Connor to join the CPTPP. According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, the two ministers held a teleconference to communicate about follow-up work related to China’s formal application for membership. China’s state-run Global Times reported that “China hopes to revive China and the world economy in the post-COVID-19 era by emphasizing the need for multilateralism and bringing world trade and economic cooperation back to normal.”

Analysts say that China’s application for membership is intended to contain the US, which has expressed its intention to rejoin the CPTPP. The United States launched the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2010, during the tenure of President Barack Obama. However, President Donald Trump withdrew from the TPP in 2017 because a free trade agreement (FTA) could threaten American jobs. China has been wary in the past that the TPP is a US encirclement aimed at its own country, but after President Joe Biden has actively expressed his intention to rejoin the TPP since his days as a presidential candidate, it has shifted its stance toward joining the TPP since the end of last year.

There is also the view that the countries newly joining the CPTPP moved quickly before opposing China’s accession. “If the UK joins the CPTPP, there is a risk that it will hinder China’s accession,” said Surab Gupta, a senior researcher at the US-China Institute, told the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. In fact, the UK, which has withdrawn from the European Union (EU), is also in the process of negotiating with CPTPP officials to join the CPTPP.

It remains to be seen, however, whether China can join the CPTPP. Gupta predicted that although most CPTPP member countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam, support China’s accession, it is likely to face opposition from Japan.

It is noteworthy whether the Korean government’s application to join the CPTPP will be accelerated according to China’s application to join the CPTPP. The Korean government had been preparing to join the CPTPP, but was not willing to join the CPTPP due to China’s checks. Experts predicted that if Korea joins the CPTPP, it will be able to see the effect of signing FTAs ​​with Japan and Mexico.

CPTPP is an organization to eliminate trade tariffs and build an economic community, and 11 countries are currently members. In 2005, New Zealand, Singapore, Chile, and Brunei started as a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPSEP), and the United States joined in 2010 and the name was changed to TPP. After the US withdrew from the TPP, Japan and Australia launched the CPTPP in 2018. Currently, the total economy of CPTPP participating countries accounts for 13% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). If you include the US, UK, China, and South Korea, it accounts for more than half.