It's just another joint venture, Uncle Sam
- By Lin Shaowen
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E-mail CRI, April 2, 2015
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EU Crowded out [By Jiao Haiyang/China.org.cn] |
It's a bank for infrastructure building; now a global explosive issue.
No big deal, if the China-initiated Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) only means building roads, ports and airports. And it's ok, if it is just about Internet linkage and policy coordination. Indeed important but still nothing unusual as it naturally involves trade, investment and profits.
Debates began over membership (who joins in), leadership (who sets the rules and decides), and partnership (who shares what and how). These debates lasted for over a year, ever since the idea was raised by China in October 2013. Debates turned hotter last November when leaders of 21 countries signed an MOU in Beijing at a sideline meeting of the APEC summit.
Things became dramatic when Britain announced their decision to join the AIIB about three weeks ago and the United States openly criticized its close ally for "constant accommodation of China". In defiance of this angry warning, several other industrialized nations followed suit, including most of the G-7 members (four of the P-5 of the UN Security Council) and other U.S. allies such as South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and possibly even Japan in the future, another U.S. ally, as its foreign minister and ambassador to China sent conflicting notes whether to step in.
Washington is left out in the cold as it shut itself out of the room. The reason? It openly expressed concerns over standards, transparency and environment impacts of bank operations. But would it be easier to enter the room and tackle the issues?
What really worries Washington, as observers point out, is possible challenges to the existing global U.S.-led financial institutions, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, as well as the Asian Development Bank.
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