China's CPTPP bid greeted with skepticism and caution

US allies express doubts over Beijing's willingness to reform economy

Then-U.K. Trade Secretary Liz Truss, now foreign secretary, chairs a CPTPP roundtable in London on July 10, 2020. (Photo courtesy of No. 10 Downing Street)

TOMOHIRO EBUCHI, IORI KAWATE and TAISEI HOYAMA, Nikkei staff writers

September 18, 2021 03:17 JST

TOKYO/BEIJING/WASHINGTON -- Japan and Australia on Friday joined a chorus of U.S. allies that have aired caution and trepidation over China's bid to join an 11-nation trans-Pacific trade group, skeptical that the world's second-largest economy is willing to conform to the pact's high standards for free trade.