TOKYO/WASHINGTON -- Membership bids filed just days apart by Beijing and Taipei have turned the 11-nation CPTPP trade bloc into the latest flashpoint in the push to build a global, rules-based trade order.
Originally conceived to counter Beijing's growing economic clout in the Pacific Rim, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership has seen its members split in their response to the dueling bids. With the U.S. no longer part of the framework, Japan now faces a challenge in trying to keep the bloc unified over its founding principles on transparency and market access.
