It's just another joint venture, Uncle Sam
- By Lin Shaowen
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E-mail CRI, April 2, 2015
One may be afraid that with more members joining in and no veto power given to any single country, efficiency would be at stake. In fact, AIIB joined by industrialized nations would be more professional in operation and can more easily address to concerns such standards, transparency and environment impacts.
What if there was prolonged bargaining and debates in the board of directors? Democracy! That's what Beijing is often told to do.
As for Washington, what sounds ironic is, first, it doesn't appear to be in favor of international democracy. Secondly, we have heard of dazzling words like shared-leadership, G-2, co-stakeholder and Chinamerica, but even a litter more say far short of dominance is in question.
Signs of compromise came on the eve of the March 31 deadline, when Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew told Premier Li Keqiang that the U.S. is "looking forward to cooperating with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, as it welcomes and supports proposals that are helpful to infrastructure construction." Welcome back (half-back). And please stay engaged, as history reminds us of the bitter lesson of U.S. isolationist policies before WWII (Britain fought alone at first) and its heroic contribution later, when it joined allies in Europe and Asia.
America became strong when it was the UNITED States; post-war world enjoyed relative peace largely because the U.S. embraced internationalism and multilateralism and initiated a world body called the UNITED Nations.
It's my personal hope that one day Washington steps in for engagement. Only when you are a member, can you play a greater role. As President Xi Jinping puts it, "The 'Belt and Road' and the AIIB are both open initiatives", as all-inclusive endeavors, not zero-sum games.
Personally, I would be happy to see Uncle Sam aboard as a member, with funds, technology and expertise to join in decision making and to share profits. But make sure it's fair play.
Who knows, London may already be whispering to Uncle Sam, and so may China.
A radio person, Mr. Lin Shaowen is strongly interested in international relations and Chinese politics.
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