[ti:TPP Nations Seek to Save Trade Deal after US Withdraws] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) [00:06.32]are seeking to move forward with the trade agreement [00:10.52]after the United States withdrew. [00:14.64]President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday [00:20.08]pulling the United States out of the TPP. [00:25.64]Leaders from some TPP nations pledged Tuesday to make attempts [00:32.12]to continue the agreement even without the U.S. [00:38.28]Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said [00:42.72]he had discussed the TPP's future with the leaders of Japan, Singapore and New Zealand. [00:51.44]He told reporters that while the U.S. leaving was clearly "a big loss," [00:58.88]he is hopeful the trade deal will survive. [01:04.12]The United States negotiated the TPP [01:08.32]under former President Barack Obama. [01:12.20]But the deal faced opposition in the U.S. Congress, [01:17.08]which never approved the deal. [01:20.88]Turnbull added that with America now out of the agreement, [01:25.84]"Certainly there is potential for China to join the TPP." [01:32.76]The Obama administration had said one goal of the TPP [01:37.92]was to counter China's growing regional influence in the Asia-Pacific. [01:45.20]In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokeswoman [01:49.24]would not say whether China would now attempt to join the TPP. [01:56.56]She said China believes that all nations "should keep going down the path of open, [02:03.84]inclusive, continuous" economic development. [02:08.68]In the past, China has proposed an alternative to the TPP, [02:15.60]a trade group called the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP). [02:24.60]The foreign ministry spokeswoman said efforts to form the FTAAP should now be increased. [02:34.92]China has also supported another group, [02:39.04]the Southeast Asian-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). [02:47.84]Analysts say other nations may now seek to join alternative trade agreements [02:54.88]to take advantage of the U.S. withdrawal from the TPP. [03:01.32]Trump's rejection of the TPP was expected. [03:06.40]He repeatedly condemned the agreement during his presidential campaign, [03:12.76]saying it was not a fair trade deal for America. [03:18.80]Trump has said he favors one-on-one agreements with other nations [03:24.28]rather than multinational deals like the TPP. [03:30.68]Carl Thayer is a political scientist at Australia's University of New South Wales. [03:39.04]He said he believes America's withdrawal from the TPP [03:45.00]will greatly reduce Washington's influence in the region. [03:50.48]"At the moment he (Trump) has given away multilateral (agreements) [03:52.76]so the U.S. has no longer a leadership role using the economic lever in Southeast Asia." [03:58.84]There are 11 remaining TPP members, [04:02.84]including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. [04:11.56]The others are Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Brunei. [04:19.96]A Malaysian government trade official said [04:23.04]the remaining TPP countries would meet in the near future [04:27.56]to discuss what steps to take next. [04:32.52]The official said there are still "many possibilities" [04:36.80]for the remaining 11 nations to push ahead with the TPP. [04:43.36]Last week, Japan's parliament approved the TPP. [04:48.44]But Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said that without the U.S., it would become "meaningless." [04:59.16]On Tuesday, Abe told lawmakers during a parliamentary debate [05:04.88]he still had hope that Trump might change his position. [05:10.44]He said he plans to seek Trump's "understanding" on the importance of the TPP. [05:17.76]Abe added that he plans to meet with Trump as soon as possible. [05:24.68]I'm Bryan Lynn. [05:26.36]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM