Since the U.S. withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP) in 2017, the TPP has been replaced with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and China has been interested in the CPTPP in recent years, but recently kicked Japan in the irony. The Sankei Shimbun reported today that Prime Minister Kan Yoshihide said in an interview with well-known media personality Ryoko Sakurai that it would be difficult for China to participate in the current political and economic system, and that he hoped the United States would return instead.
According to the report, Kan expects the U.S. to participate in the CPTPP and is also looking forward to India’s participation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which was signed by Japan, China, South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in November last year, and Japan is currently a major player in both the CPTPP and RCEP economic organizations.
During the interview, Sakurai first pointed out that Chinese Communist Party President Xi Jinping stated his intention to join the CPTPP last year, which is dangerous because economic power is the biggest weapon for the Chinese Communist Party to establish hegemony, and if the Chinese Communist Party will fully apply this weapon to the RCEP, it may also apply it to the CPTPP in the future.
In response to Sakurai’s concerns, Kan said that the CPTPP’s regulations require member countries to have a very high degree of market openness, but this is a very high threshold for China, so it is difficult for China to participate under its current political and economic system.
He said that until the last moment, Japan still tried to persuade India to join the RCEP, and that the RCEP showed the attitude of welcoming India to join at any time, although it is not easy for India to join, but he always hoped to make it happen, so he continued to negotiate and consult with India.
In addition, Sakurai also pointed out that when China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) 20 years ago, it promised the international community that it would protect intellectual property rights, but in the end it did not keep its promise.
In this regard, Kan stressed that Japan will respond carefully, without the consent of the CPTPP member countries, China is impossible to join, plus this year is Japan’s turn to serve as the CPTPP rotating presidency, and since the withdrawal of the United States, TPP has been changed to CPTPP, CPTPP has been led by Japan, Japan has a certain degree of influence.
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