On November 20, 2020, Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping publicly stated that he is actively considering joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a regional trade agreement involving 11 countries, and that Japan will be the rotating chair in 2021. In response to the Chinese Communist Party’s intention, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that the accession of new countries will be considered from a strategic perspective. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimichi Mogi, on the other hand, stressed that the TPP sets high standards in e-commerce, intellectual property rights and regulation of state-owned enterprises, and that new member countries need to meet these standards.
The Nikkei Keizai Shimbun reported on December 18 that the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was originally a small agreement signed by four Pacific Rim countries (Brunei, Chile, Singapore and New Zealand). Singapore and New Zealand) signed a small trade agreement, has recently attracted the interest of many countries, including the United Kingdom, Thailand and China. The UK has expressed interest in joining the TPP next year (2021).
Japanese media reported that Japan, as the rotating chair of the TPP in 2021, will be the gatekeeper to enforce the strictest standards. China’s (CCP) interest in joining the TPP is of particular interest, given its worrisome stance on state-owned enterprises and intellectual property rights, despite the fact that it is beginning to have a stronger influence in Asia-Pacific trade.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said last week that “the TPP has 11 members and new countries cannot join directly without their approval.”
Suga said that new members “face huge obstacles” and that “in responding, we will think strategically.”
On Tuesday (Dec. 15), Japanese Foreign Minister Toshichika Mogi stressed that the TPP sets high standards for e-commerce, intellectual property rights and regulation of state-owned enterprises, so “we need to ensure that all new members are ready to meet these standards.”
The report argues that Japan’s adherence to existing TPP standards poses a challenge to the CCP. For example, the ban on special treatment for state-owned enterprises to ensure fair competition is in part a response to the global glut of steel and other products caused by heavy investment by Chinese state-owned manufacturers; and the ban on mandatory source code disclosure will be a hard pill for China (the CCP) to swallow.
Yorizumi Watanabe, a professor at the Kansai University of International Studies, said Japan must make a clear statement that it will not relax the existing TPP standards for China (CCP), “if China (CCP) fails to meet the criteria, Japan should be ready to reject China (CCP).”
In November, 15 countries, including Japan and China, signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest free trade agreement. To prevent China (CCP) from becoming the dominant trade rule maker, Japan wants to expand the TPP into a larger trade area, however, as the rotating presidency, Japan does not intend to lower the TPP standards.
The TPP has been without new members since it took effect in December 2018. When a country applies to join the TPP, a working group is formed to determine if the country can meet TPP regulations.
New accessions to the TPP require unanimous approval from the 11 existing Pacific Rim members, including Japan, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
At the APEC Leaders’ Meeting on the evening of November 20, 2020, Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping said that China would actively consider joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
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