Revealing the reason why Australia has not publicly supported China joining CPTPP?

Beijing wants “a clear commitment from Australia, preferably public” that Canberra will support China’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and “reject Taiwan’s membership,” during Australian Foreign Minister Don Farrell’s visit to Beijing on May 12, according to the South China Morning Post , citing people on the Australian side familiar with Canberra’s actions.

Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Beijing on May 12.

China's participation in the CPTPP is a key agenda item on the negotiating table between Beijing and Canberra amid a thaw in their relationship, but a source said "the Australian government would not be able to publicly support China's membership while trade sanctions are in place".

"Australia does not oppose China becoming a member of the CPTPP, but it needs to be based on China meeting the CPTPP's trade standards," one of the sources said.

“[Mr] Farrell told [Beijing] that Australia does not support Taiwan’s membership,” the source added. Last year, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Canberra was unlikely to support Taiwan’s bid to join the CPTPP.

China applied to join the CPTPP in September 2021, and Taiwan followed suit shortly after.

Officials from the 11 CPTPP member countries agreed on March 31, 2023, to allow the UK to join the agreement, Nikkei Asia reported, citing a joint statement issued after an online meeting. The move would mark the UK as the first non-founding member of the CPTPP since its launch in 2018.

CPTPP member countries, including Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Peru and Chile, and the UK plan to formally sign an agreement at a ministerial meeting in July.

The CPTPP is a broad agreement that eliminates trade tariffs between members and sets rules on issues such as cross-border investment, e-commerce, intellectual property, state-owned enterprises and labor. The CPTPP came into effect in 2018 after the United States withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

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