A Chinese vision of free trade
China’s motives for joining the CPTPP range from benign to worrying
SOMETIMES CHINA makes shrewd decisions. At other times it is capable of grave mistakes, even acts of wickedness. But the Chinese government is rarely silly. In particular, officials do not stake the prestige of their supreme leader, President Xi Jinping, on a whim. That makes it worth revisiting dismissive foreign reactions to a move that, though dry-looking, is important and revealing.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “China’s vision of free trade”
From the October 9th 2021 edition
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