Originally called the Trans-Pacific Partnership until the USA withdrew in 2017, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is an ambitious and wide-ranging free trade agreement between eleven Pacific countries. Far from faltering after US withdrawal, several more countries have since applied to join, including China, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Some observers see in this a contest between China and the USA for wider influence through an attempt to control or re-write the rules of international trade; at a minimum accession by any of the three would have a major impact on the CPTPP as originally envisaged.

This edited volume considers the three applications, the motivations for the three to join, and the likely responses of existing members. The implications for cross-Strait tension between China and Taiwan are fully considered, as is the ability or willingness of the USA to influence the outcome of the applications.