Taiwan's government is lobbying hard to join a major Asia-Pacific trade pact, framing itself as a strong economic partner at a time when China is working to keep it isolated.

• Taiwan's foreign ministry hosted a group of journalists from countries in the CPTPP trade bloc, pitching the island as a top candidate for membership.
• Officials pointed to Taiwan's fast-growing economy, powered by the AI boom, and said it meets the bloc's standards for new members.
• Coverage out of the trip touched on Mexico's growing tech investment ties with Taiwan, Australia's support following Chinese military pressure, and Chinese efforts to isolate Taiwan using gray-zone tactics.
• Taiwan's membership bid has stalled for years with no real progress, even as the UK recently joined the pact.

Outlook: Taiwan is unlikely to see fast movement on CPTPP membership given China's own competing bid and the bloc's unanimous-consent requirement, but it will keep using media outreach to build support among existing members.