China is pushing ahead with behind-the-scenes talks to join a major trade deal that was originally aimed at excluding Beijing and cementing U.S. economic power and trade ties in the Asia-Pacific region.
Officials from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and possibly other nations have held technical talks with Chinese counterparts on details of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, according to officials from four member countries with knowledge of the discussions who asked not to be named as they weren’t authorized to comment on the talks.
China announced in February that it had held informal talks with some of the members, but didn’t release details. It’s not clear how far China has progressed in preparing an application, but the people see Beijing as seriously interested in joining, with multiple officials pointing to comments last year from President Xi Jinping as an indication of intent.