Reports that UK are about to sign to CPTPP
The UK will sign up to joining the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership) in Auckland this weekend, according to press reports across the Far East. New Zealand is hosting a meeting of the CPTPP, having taken over chairmanship from Singapore.
The UK joining CPTPP – subject to ratification - would be a landmark, as it would be the first new member since CPTPP was fully established. Joining the CPTPP has cross-party support in the UK, as the Labour Party has said it support CPTPP membership.
Current CPTPP members are: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The bloc will be worth 15% of global GDP once the U.K. joins, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Several reports have noted that attention will then shift towards China, which applied to join after the UK and before half a dozen other countries (Taiwan, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Ukraine). CPTPP was originally developed to balance the growing influence of China.
The UK should build “a constructive and stable relationship with China”, according to Japan’s foreign minister. Yoshimasa Hayashi was speaking in London and is reported in Politico.
LINKS
Aotearoa New Zealand hosts CPTPP in 2023
U.K. to sign CPTPP trade deal, shifting focus to China (Japan Times, 8 July 2023)
Build ‘constructive’ relationship with China, Tokyo’s chief diplomat urges UK (POLITICO)
