China has filed an application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), its commerce ministry said, as the world's second-biggest economy looks to bolster its clout in trade.

Commerce Minister Wang Wentao submitted China's application to join the free trade agreement in a letter to New Zealand's trade minister, Damien O'Connor, the Chinese ministry said in a statement late on Thursday.

The CPTPP was signed by 11...