China is capable of handling the uncertainties of international trade, and is no longer in a position where "it can be steamrollered or coerced into signing treaties", a state-run daily said on Wednesday.
An editorial in the Global Times said that the negotiation over the US-initiated Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is reported to be entering the final round.
"...If the deal is finalized within this year, it would be considered a major US achievement. Some relatively radical and optimistic US analysts believe that the conclusion of the TPP will become a landmark of US-dominated global trade rules, and China will once again be driven into a corner," said the daily.
The editorial added: "What happens in the realm of global trade depends on a variety of practical factors, especially the irreplaceable role of 'interests'."
All Asia-Pacific nations are striving to maximize their own national interests, yet no single multilateral or bilateral trade deal can meet these needs. Therefore, one country will simultaneously join different trading systems to gain as much benefit as possible.
"...it is still hard to say whether the TPP will thus become a new US tool of geopolitical competition against China. But one thing is certain, most of the other 11 nations that are negotiating with Washington over the TPP have no interest in this regard," the daily noted.
It went on to say that China is the largest trading nation in the region, as well as the second-largest economy in the world. "The temptation of its market potential is irresistible."
"...China's economic presence and influence in the Asia-Pacific can neither be ignored nor bypassed."
The daily added: "When or if the TPP is signed, the positive or negative impacts it will have on China cannot be seen clearly for now, neither can they be precisely estimated by the US. Today's China is capable of handling the uncertainties of international trade, and is no longer in the position where it can be steamrollered or coerced into signing treaties."
