Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao recently submitted an application to New Zealand's trade minister Damien O'Connor to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the former’s commerce ministry said. Current CPTPP chair Japan said it will consult members to respond to China's request, offering no timeline.

As the depositary for the CPTPP, the New Zealand government handles various administrative tasks for the pact. Wang and O'Connor held a telephone conference to discuss the next steps following China's application, the Chinese ministry said.

"Japan believes that it's necessary to determine whether China, which submitted a request to join the TPP-11, is ready to meet its extremely high standards," Japanese economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura was quoted by a global newswire as telling journalists.

The CPTPP was signed by 11 countries, including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan and New Zealand in 2018. Former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the pact in 2017.

The United Kingdom began negotiations in June this year to enter the trade pact, while Thailand has also indicated its interest in joining.

Beijing has lobbied for its inclusion in the pact, including by highlighting that the Chinese and Australian economies have enormous potential for cooperation. However, relations between the two countries have soured.

Domestic reforms within China are a precondition to qualify as policies like subsidies to state-owned enterprises that distort competition are forbidden by the CPTPP. As China has been strengthening the state sector, negotiations to join may reportedly enter a stalemate from the beginnning.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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