NEW YORK—China has formally applied to join an 11-nation Asia-Pacific trade pact, seeking to draw traditional American allies into its economic orbit as competition for alliances heats up between Beijing and Washington.
The announcement that China will try to join a pact that was initially championed by former President Barack Obama to counter China came a day after the Biden administration unveiled a new security partnership with the U.K. and Australia in the Indo-Pacific as Beijing’s influence grows in the region.
