The 11 member states of the "Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement" (CPTPP) formally announced on June 2 to start negotiations for the admission of the United Kingdom. If it is confirmed to join, the United Kingdom will be the first country outside the 11 founding member states to formally apply for membership. The British government said that once approved to join will bring great opportunities for the future development of the United Kingdom, the British Parliament will discuss the specific plan submitted by the Johnson government in the next few weeks and complete the negotiations as soon as possible.

At the CPTPP committee video conference held that day, the chairman of the Japanese economy and finance minister Yasuo Nishimura said, "I hope to see whether the United Kingdom meets higher standards." Some outsiders believe that it may take nearly a year for Britain to actually join. It is very likely that the UK will be approved to join the CPTPP. In order to make up for the blow caused by Brexit, the UK has proposed to increase the coverage of countries and regions that have signed Free Trade Agreements (FTA) to 80% of the total trade volume by the end of 2022. If the UK can join the CPTPP, this ratio will reach about 65%. But for the 11 existing member states, including Japan, the economic expansion effect brought about by Britain's accession is actually limited. Judging from the GDP in 2019, the CPTPP member countries accounted for 13% of the world’s total, but this has only risen to 16% after the UK’s accession.

The Secretary of State for International Trade of the British Government Truth said that joining the CPTPP will bring great opportunities for the United Kingdom, which will shift the focus of the British economy from Europe to faster-growing regions. Once successfully "joining the group", the UK will be able to enter this free trade zone covering 11 Asia-Pacific countries and a population of about 500 million. However, some voices believe that this market is more difficult to reach for the UK than the neighboring European markets.

The United Kingdom formally applied to join the CPTPP in February 2021, and its predecessor was the TPP that took effect in December 2018. The United States withdrew from the TPP during the Trump administration. It is expected that the Biden administration will give priority to internal affairs in the short term. Japanese media believe that CPTPP can be expanded to Europe is still quite meaningful. If major countries outside the region participate, it will bring "dongfeng" to the expansion of CPTPP. Thailand has already discussed participating in the CPTPP, while China, South Korea and Taiwan have also shown interest. Editor/Xu Shengpeng