At the annual meeting of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership’s (CPTPP) executive committee in Vancouver, Canada on Wednesday, delegates put off making a decision regarding Taiwan and China’s applications, according to foreign media source POLITICO Europe. Instead, Costa Rica is expected to become the next member to enter the trade organization.

China applied to join the CPTPP on September 16, 2021, with Taiwan submitting an application shortly after on September 22, but both applications have been stalled due to sensitive political factors. Senior officials from the trade bloc told POLITICO that Beijing’s One China policy complicates Taiwan’s accession, as members of the bloc that are allied with Beijing, namely Malaysia, Vietnam, and Singapore, have publicly stated their support for China. 

Vina Nadjibulla, a vice-president at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada think tank, pointed out that although Taiwan is one of the most prepared applicants to meet the CPTPP’s high standards of membership, it lacks consensus support from all of its existing members. Nadjibulla added that the group has decided the addition of new members will not be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The CPTPP is a major trade bloc representing about 15% of the world’s economy. It currently has 12 members, Japan, Australia, and Canada among them, with the U.K. slated to join on December 15.