CPTPP photo: VCG

As China bids to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the country should not be subjected to any preconceived, biased views before its talks with the CPTPP members kick off, Chinese experts said on Sunday.

The remarks came as some foreign media hyped that China faces difficulties in its accession to the CPTPP, a high-level trade pact that included the UK as its newest member on Sunday.

With the UK on board, the free trade bloc now includes 12 economies and has a combined GDP of 12 trillion pounds ($15.72 trillion), according to the UK government.

China has been steadily pushing forward reform and opening-up toward high-quality development and actively promoting its joining of the CPTPP. The efforts also showcased China's resolve to oppose "decoupling" and support globalization. 

In 2021, China formally applied to join the CPTPP and submitted documents for its accession to the pact in June.

However, some foreign media have seized the opportunity to hype the difficulty China faces in joining the pact, with Australia reportedly signaling that China has no hope of being accepted in the near term. 

Chinese trade experts lambasted the twisted narrative, pointing out that whether China can join the CPTPP should not be a geopolitical issue, but rather a technical issue concerning whether China can meet the requirements of the trade deal when it comes to the level of opening-up.

Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Sunday it is inappropriate and too soon for the media outlets to make assumptions on China's suitability to the CPTPP as trade talks have not yet started.

"There should be no unspoken rules about a country's joining the CPTPP trade pact," Li said, rejecting any hint of geopolitics and preconceived prejudice.

"China is expecting normal trade negotiations on the basis of equality," said Li.

Huo Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Sunday that China has been working to create conditions to joining the CPTPP and promote institutional opening-up.

Last month, the Chinese central government issued measures for trials in the country's free trade pilot zones and free trade port, including promoting innovative development in goods trade, facilitating services trade, streamlining the temporary entry of business personnel and ensuring the healthy development of digital trade, with the aim of deepening reforms in key areas by aligning with high-standard international trade rules.

The large size of the Chinese economy guarantees that its entry will be a positive boost for the regional economy, Huo said, noting that the UK's accession to the deal has no direct influence on China's application to join the CPTPP.

Experts noted that for issues such as state-sector companies, there has been tolerance for some CPTPP member countries, and it would be exaggerating the issue if there's hype about Chinese state-owned enterprises when it comes to China.

On June 17, China's Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said during the APEC China CEO Forum 2023 that China is sorting out reforms and amending regulations and laws for joining the CPTPP, and China has the capability to join the CPTPP.

Wang said that China has taken the initiative to meet the high operational standards of the CPTPP and implemented pilot reforms and opening-up in related fields.

Prior to the UK's accession, the CPTPP would generate global income gains estimated at $147 billion annually, according to a report by the Peterson Institute for International Economics. If China were to join, the gains would quadruple to $632 billion, or one-quarter more than the original TPP with the US.

China's business environment has been constantly improving. In a 2020 World Bank flagship report, which ranked countries in terms of the ease of doing business, China was in 31st place, higher than France.