China says trade pact application unrelated to new U.S., UK and Australia alliance

Record ID: 1637350

  • Title: China says trade pact application unrelated to new U.S., UK and Australia alliance
  • Date: 17th September 2021
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (SEPTEMBER 17, 2021) (REUTERS) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, ZHAO LIJIAN, ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, ZHAO LIJIAN, SAYING: "This (China applying to join Pacific trade pact) is completely unrelated to the tripartite agreement between the United States, Britain, and Australia (AUKUS). I want to emphasize that China is a firm advocate of trade liberalization and facilitation and an important participant in cooperation and economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region. China's formal application to join the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) once again demonstrates China's firm determination to expand and open up aboard and to promote regional economic cooperation." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, ZHAO LIJIAN, SAYING: "You have combined these two things (CPTPP and AUKUS) just now, and everyone can see that what China promotes is economic cooperation and the integration of economic regions. What the United States, Britain, and Australia are promoting is war and destruction." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS EXTERIOR OF FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING CHINESE FLAG FLYING
  • Embargoed: 1st October 2021 10:59
  • Keywords: AUKUS Australia Britain CPTPP China Trade Trans-Pacific U.S.
  • Location: BEIJING, CHINA
  • City: BEIJING, CHINA
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001EV3VQRR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday (September 17) that China's application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is completely unrelated to a recently formed Indo-Pacific security alliance.
    In an arrangement dubbed AUKUS, the United States and Britain will provide Australia with the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines.
    The CPTPP was signed by 11 countries including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan and New Zealand in 2018. Before that, it was known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and seen as an important economic counterweight to China's regional influence.
    China said on Thursday that it had filed an application to join the CPTPP trade pact, from which the U.S. Trump administration withdrew in 2017.
    (Production: Wang Shubing, Joyce Zhou)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register