Beijing officially applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). However, experts said the possibility of getting approved was quite low due to high entry standards and China’s unfair market practices. On Sept. 16, China’s commerce minister, Wang Wentao, submitted a written application for CPTPP membership to Damien O’Connor, Minister for Trade and Export Growth of New Zealand, the depository state of the deal. One day later, China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said at a press briefing that China’s entry would enhance regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as boost global recovery from the pandemic. However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) faces strong resistance, especially from high CPTPP standards in the forefront, said The Epoch Times columnist Wang He. “Some of the core clauses pose challenges to the CCP,” Wang said. Current affairs magazine The Diplomat’s editor-in-chief, Shannon Tiezzi, said in a Sept. 17 …