ISSUING AUTHORITY:

Ministry of Commerce

DATE OF ISSUANCE:

September 16, 2021

After many official and unofficial statements in recent months and years, on September 16, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao officially handed a letter to New Zealand’s trade minister Damien O'Connor requesting to accede to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The two ministers held a teleconference and discussed follow-up work on China’s application.

The CPTPP currently has 11 members that represent about $13.5 trillion in GDP, or 13.4% of global GDP, making it one of the largest trade pacts in the world. Current members of the CPTPP include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam, while New Zealand is the depositary nation for the CPTPP. To join the CPTPP, China would require the unanimous consent of all currently active members.

Reference:

中方正式提出申请加入《全面与进步跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》（CPTPP）