China’s regional trade pact bid derails as Australia stalls and Japan tensions deepen

What happened to Australia is now happening to Japan — almost step for step. The same cycle that defined Beijing’s pressure campaign against Canberra is now unfolding across the East China Sea: a diplomatic thaw, a burst of optimism, and then a sudden reversal triggered by a political disagreement. This time, though, the consequences stretch far beyond the bilateral relationship. China’s escalating confrontation with Japan is colliding directly with its attempt to join one of the world’s most demanding trade agreements — the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). And because Australia is chairing the CPTPP process this…