The active opening-up strategy the government has vowed to adopt, as mapped out in the report delivered to the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China in November, means that the country should be more active in pursuing new opening-up targets.

China should hold an active attitude toward the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the United States is vigorously pushing. Given that the TPP sets higher requirements for membership, in terms of financial institutions, management of enterprises and their competitiveness, more active involvement in free trade talks with the US and the European Union would offer China a new and bigger driving force for a better domestic environment and strengthen its protection of intellectual property rights. At a time when no substantial progress has been made in the WTO-led Doha Round of negotiations, China, as the world's second-largest economy, should not turn a blind eye to the TPP, a wide-ranging economic cooperation arrangement that has drawn worldwide attention.

Compared with other free trade or economic cooperation agreements, what the TPP advocates is complete demolition of tariffs among member states, and it will not recognize "exceptionalism" in principle. If joined by Japan, it will account for 40 percent of the world's economic aggregates and become a new stage for the making of international economic and trade rules.

There is no denying that the TPP will help rejuvenate the US economy, facilitate Washington's bid to return to the Asia-Pacific region and share the region's economic prosperity, and that it will boost its global competitiveness, influence and dominance. China's active involvement in the TPP process would bring it many challenges, but also opportunities. Excessive resistance to the TPP will be detrimental to China and mean it will possibly let slip chances to take advantage of the TPP to push for deeper economic institutional reforms and promote the better and faster development of its economy. TPP membership would bring increased pressure on China to protect intellectual property rights and make greater efforts to conserve energy and reduce emissions. It would help China promote domestic innovations and sharpen its global competitiveness to adapt to new international trade and investment rules. At the same time, participation in TPP talks at an early date would help China avoid marginalization and gain a say in the making of its rules.

The author is a senior researcher on foreign investment at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, under the Ministry of Commerce.

(China Daily 06/24/2013 page8)