Why should China consider joining the TPP?
BUSINESS
By Zhao Hong

2017-02-23 13:35 GMT+8

‍By CGTN's Dong Xin
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, has been facing collapse since President Donald Trump’s officially pulled out the US from the agreement. Many countries like Australia and New Zealand are now encouraging China to join this regional bloc. In fact, Chile has invited Australia and other TPP signatories in Latin America and Asia, other members of the Pacific Alliance – Colombia, Peru and Mexico, as well as China and South Korea to a dialogue in March, according to Xinhua. 
Since China has already become an important member of RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) and FTAAP (Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific), why should China consider joining a compact which used to exclude China?
In CGTN current affairs talk show "Dialogue with Yang Rui," Chilean Ambassador to China Jorge Heine said he regards this as an opportunity for China to enforce the relations with Latin American countries, as well as seeking to lead in the Asia-Pacific region in the absence of the US.
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“Here it’s a great opportunity for China’s leadership. In Latin America, a lot of countries have very strong trading relationships with China. We are invested in growth in China, we all benefit from it and have so for the past 15 years. So it’s very much a win-win situation and we must, it seems to me, to grab it with both hands,” he said.
Wang Huiyao, president of Center for China & Globalization said if we already have the TPP and RCEP -- both a product of free trade of the Asia-Pacific countries -- we can combine them to build the FTAAP. That’s also a reflection of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s keynote speech in Davos to back globalization.
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“I think it is a really good idea to have both TPP and RCEP combined, and in the future that can support FTAAP which is a much bigger, more long term trade agreement.”
Whether China will join the TPP is uncertain now, but one thing is sure, China will support any trade deal as long as it promotes free trade and globalization. China believes that’s what an inclusive, responsible country should do.

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