Move follows bid to join CPTPP . . . China has formally applied to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA). Singapore, New Zealand, and Chile launched the pact together in June 2020 (it entered into force in New Zealand and Singapore in January 2021). The agreement does not have binding rules. Nonetheless, it has potential as a mechanism to strengthen multilateral co-operation on digital economy issues, like data protection and transfers, privacy, lowering barriers for cross-border e-commerce, and interoperable regulations for emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. DEPA also emphasizes the free flow of data among members. Beijing’s DEPA move...