China pushes for Asia-Pacific trade agreement membership

• China has been pushing for membership in a high-level Asia-Pacific trade and investment pact and will step up efforts to attract foreign investment, according to the country’s top trade negotiator.
• Wang Shouwen, China’s vice-minister for commerce, said Beijing had researched more than 2,300 clauses and items in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and combed through the reforms, laws and regulations that the country needed to carry out and revise for membership.
• Wang said China had submitted a document to the members and was “willing to and capable of” joining the pact.
• CPTPP membership requires approval from all member countries, namely Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan and the United Kingdom.
• China failed to secure a public endorsement from Australia to join the trade bloc during Australian Trade minister Don Farrell’s trip to Beijing.
• The CPTPP’s membership criteria include ownership and labour standards – two areas where Beijing is seen as falling short of the requirements.
• Foreign business communities have voiced fatigue over unmet promises in recent years and called on Beijing to carry out concrete moves to open market access and provide policy certainty.
• Inflows of foreign direct investment to China dropped 5.6% in the first five months of 2023 to USD84.35bn, after falling by 3.3% in the first four months, the Ministry of Commerce said last week (5-11 Jun)

External Link : https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3224486/china-pushes-asia-pacific-trade-agreement-membership-promises-actively-attract-foreign-investment