Should China be admitted to Asia’s premier trade deal?

The struggle over trade in Asia. Should China be admitted to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)? The pact's economic punch has been subdued, but its global trade rules have had much more impact.

March 9, 2023 . 6:59 AM

1 min read

Donald Trump entered the White House in 2017 with a long hit-list. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade deal which he called “a rape of our country”, was near the top.
Five years ago this week, ministers from the eleven remaining countries met in Chile to sign the renamed Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Without America—whose Democratic president, Joe Biden, dares not offend the protectionists in his party by undoing Mr Trump’s error—the economic impact has been less than was once envisaged.
Britain is expected to reach an “agreement in principle” to join as early as this week.
China and many existing CPTPP members already belong to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a lower-standard Asian mega-trade deal signed in 2020.