Singapore to Join IPEF, Back China Entry in CPTPP

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has told Nikkei his country seeks to join the new US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) while also backing China’s entry to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the multilateral free-trade pact which currently does not include America.

Lee said it is a “valuable sign that the Biden administration understands the importance of economic diplomacy in Asia and so we should support them and hang in”, while adding that Beijing is welcome to join the CPTPP but would have to meet its standards, the report said.

Read the full report: Nikkei Asia.

Lawrence Wong to Succeed Lee Hsien Loong as Singapore PM

Singapore’s 2021 GDP Grows at Fastest Pace in Over a Decade

Singapore, Malaysia Reopen Land Border Amid Omicron Worries

Tags: Economic Policy

Sean O'Meara

Sean O'Meara is an Editor at Asia Financial. He has been a newspaper man for more than 30 years, working at local, regional and national titles in the UK as a writer, sub-editor, page designer and print editor. A football, cricket and rugby fan, he has a particular interest in sports finance.