China may be coming around to the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement the United States is currently negotiating, and the Asian nation could collaborate on the trade pact in one form or another.China thinks the TPP will be a possible approach for promoting Asia-Pacific economic integration.

The United States is negotiating the proposed TPP regional trade deal with Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

China may be interested in participating in the trade program. Whether or not it opts to join, it will still have to follow the global rules of trade that come under TPP like enforceable labor and environmental standards and better intellectual property protection.

TPP could be a possible pathway to the Beijing-backed Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific. However abiding by TPP’s rules could make countries like China and Indonesia uncomfortable as the pact’s high standards and strict regulations might surpass the development stage for some developing economies in the region.

Now China is working to promote the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), something developing economies might prefer. RCEP is a proposed free trade agreement between the ten Asean countries and the six nations Asean has existing FTAs with.