The Chinese foreign ministry has said that all countries in the Asia-Pacific region should have an equal say in regional matters and that one single country shouldn't set the agenda.

It comes in response to a news report that the United States plans to give China a leading role in regional trade and economic affairs, if the US withdraws from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. 

"The issue of free trade in the region should not be politicised. We hope that all sides do not consider or interpret free trade arrangements from the perspective of geopolitics. There is no zero sum relationship between the various free trade arrangements, and they should not be mutually exclusive, but should promote each other," said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang.