China's CPTPP bid to block Taiwan's application: MOFA

Taipei, April 15 (CNA) A key factor pushing China's bid to join a regional trade bloc that Taiwan also aspires to is to "block Taipei's application," warned a senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official on Tuesday.

With the United States rekindling a trade war with China, Beijing is now showing "renewed interest" in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), America scholar Scott Kennedy observed at a seminar in the U.S. on Monday.

Asked about Kennedy's comment, Lien Yu-ping (連玉蘋), head of MOFA's Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs, said at a weekly briefing that the trade war highlighted the importance of regional trade blocs like the CPTPP.

Lien said one of the reasons Beijing wants to join the CPTPP was simply "to block Taiwan's accession," and she pledged that Taiwan would use every available channel to try to mitigate Chinese threats and influence over Taiwan's potential accession to the trade bloc.

Such moves include rallying support from Taiwan-friendly CPTPP members as Taiwan tries to persuade the group to focus on whether or not an aspirant meets the "the Auckland principles."

She was referring to the requirements set by the CPTPP for new members, which include meeting the trade pact's high standards, demonstrating a strong track record of meeting trade obligations, and garnering a consensus among all members.

Lien said that based on these standards, China is clearly not qualified to join the CPTPP "given Beijing's extensive use of subsidies and the lack of transparency of state-owned companies."

In 2025, Australia is the chair of the CPTPP Commission, giving Taiwan a window of opportunity because Australia has always been open to accession requests by economies that are ready to meet the high standards of the agreement, she said.

China applied to join the CPTPP in Sept. 16, 2021, roughly a week before Taiwan applied to join on Sept. 22 that same year.

Beijing, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory, has opposed Taiwan's accession to the CPTPP. This has led Taiwanese officials to worry that a successful bid by China could sink Taiwan's hopes of joining the bloc.

During the Vancouver summit held in November 2024, CPTPP members did not reach an agreement on either Taiwan or China's application to join the trade bloc.

Instead the CPTPP greenlighted the launching of an accession process for Costa Rica, which applied to join the bloc in August 2022, a year later than China and Taiwan.

The CPTPP is one of the biggest trade blocs in the world, representing around 15 percent of the global economy.

It currently has 12 members -- Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United Kingdom.