Beijing submits proposal to join Asia-Pacific’s exalted economic clique

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. The Asia-Pacific trade pact, from which the U.S. withdrew under the Trump administration, has a new member vying for a seat amongst its ranks. Beijing has officially submitted a proposal to join the eminent trade club.

China has applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the trade pact between 11 Asia-Pacific countries, as Beijing works towards drawing Washington’s allies into its economic circuit.

China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao submitted the country’s application to join the free trade agreement in a letter to New Zealand’s trade minister, Damien O'Connor, on Thursday. New Zealand is the depositary member of the agreement.

The CPTPP was signed by 11 countries including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan and New Zealand in 2018, after U.S. President Trump withdrew from the deal on his first day in office, claiming that the deal was a job-killer. President Biden has said that the deal needs to be renegotiated before he would consider re-joining.

Originally the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was a massive trade agreement signed by the twelve Pacific Rim countries, including the United States, that together comprised 40% of the global economy.

For the U.S., the TPP would lower tariffs and increase market access reducing prices for consumers, spurred cross-border investment, and boosted U.S. exports, as was argued by the Obama administration.

The CPTPP is largely similar to the TPP, except for the removal of polices pushed forth by the U.S. which were unpopular among the other nations including longer copyright terms, automatic patent extensions, and separate protections for new technologies. The members specified that these exclusions were suspended temporarily, indicating that the door was open for the U.S. to return to the deal.

Analysts believe that withdrawing from the TPP has reduced Washington’s leverage in gaining access to newer markets as compared to those led by China.

On the other hand, China has introduced the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which includes fifteen Asia-Pacific countries, excluding the U.S. It also launched the Belt and Road Initiative, to develop trade and energy infrastructure throughout South and Central Asia. 

Wall Street Journal reported that Beijing’s application into the CPTPP would be met with conflicting views between the member nations. Countries such as Japan believe that China needs to demonstrate its willingness and ability to meet the CPTPP standards to be accepted into the club whereas those such as Singapore welcome Beijing’s entry.

WSJ quoted analysts who speculate that the accession process could stretch up to many years, if not decades, whereas others believe that Beijing would lock the member countries in endless negotiations without signing any agreement.

The intensifying trade-war between Beijing and Washington has prompted the former to reassess its foreign trade policies and is hence lobbying for inclusion in the pact. 

Picture Credits: The Week

With inputs for the Wall Street Journal