As a part of its drive to boost trade integration, China plans to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Launched in 2019, the CPTPP comprises 11 countries including Australia, Canada, Japan and Mexico. It succeeded the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), from which former US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2017.

China already has bilateral free trade deals with several of the agreement’s signatories, and late last year wrapped up the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which covers the 10 ASEAN member states, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. Chinese membership of the trans-Pacific accord in its current form could net the country a $298bn boost to national income by 2030, according to a 2019 paper by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE).

Analysts say joining CPTPP would boost Chinese exports to $638billion by 2030 with imports rising by a similar amount. Trade with the agreement would surge by 55 per cent over the next 10 years. If China joins, it will also wield negotiating power if the US also attempts to re-enter the bloc under new President Joe Biden, says Deborah Elms, Executive Director, Asian Trade Centre.