Scholars see good fit for China and Pacific trade pact

China's bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, should be seen as part of its longstanding commitment to multilateralism and free trade, experts said.

Lee Seong-Hyon, a visiting scholar of Harvard University's Fairbank Center, pointed out that Chinese President Xi Jinping had expressed Beijing's interest in joining the Pacific-focused trade pact as far back as November last year.

"That indicates China is moving along with a long-term strategy in mind," said Lee, who is a former director at the Center for Chinese Studies at the Sejong Institute, a think tank in South Korea.

China has filed an application to join the CPTPP, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Sept 16.

The 11-nation trade agreement covers Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. It came into force in December 2018, with the members accounting for about 13 percent of global GDP.

Taking a similar view to Lee is Thai academic Suthiphand Chirathivat.

Suthiphand, emeritus professor of economics and executive director of the ASEAN Studies Center at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, said China's application is part of the country's long-term thinking and represents a strategic move to expand its role in the regional and global economies.

Noting that several countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are members of the CPTPP and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Suthiphand said that he expects the cooperation and integration between ASEAN and China, which are already each other's biggest trading partners, will be further deepened.

Signed in November, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is a free-trade pact between the 10-member ASEAN and five major trading partners: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. It is the biggest free-trade pact to date, with the countries involved accounting for about 30 percent of global GDP.

Nawazish Mirza, professor of finance at the Excelia Business School in France, said China's move to join the trans-Pacific trade pact aligns with the country's long-term economic strategy, given its sizable contribution to global trade and its focus on openness and multilateralism.

"If the Chinese application is approved, there will be multiple benefits," said Mirza, citing prospects such as a reduction in tariffs and non-tariff related trade barriers, and better opportunities to address climate issues.

Considering the sheer market size of China and the opportunities it presents, Manu Bhaskaran, chief executive of Centennial Asia Advisors, an economic consultancy in Singapore, said that if China is included in the CPTPP, it will make the trade pact more attractive for other countries to join.

Some countries in the region have welcomed China's CPTPP application.

In a statement, Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry said it is "encouraged" by China's action.