Henry Gao is associate professor of law at Singapore Management University and Dongfang Scholar Chair Professor at the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade. Associate professor Weihuan Zhou is director of research at the Herbert Smith Freehills CIBEL Centre at the law and justice faculty at UNSW Sydney.
It might have come as a surprise to some, but China's formal application last week to join the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership is a chance to rethink Beijing's involvement in regional trade.