Development banking in Asia has been in the news lately. Last year, China proposed creation of a development bank called the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Chinese officials say the institution would help finance infrastructure projects throughout Asia.
The area has a need for better roads and other infrastructure, including ports and power supplies. The Asian Development Bank, another organization, was set up to reduce poverty in Asia and the Pacific. It estimated last May that the Asia-Pacific area needs about $800 billion a year in infrastructure development.
China reports that more than 20 countries have agreed to be founding members of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB. Recently, some European powers added themselves to the list. U.S. allies Britain, Germany, France and Italy have joined up. So has South Korea. And Australia has agreed to move forward with negotiations. Some observers say the United States should join the bank as a founding member. Asia expert Alejandro Reyes said the way the U.S. has dealt with the bank shows outdated thinking.
Robert Kahn is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He said, “In a world with the better politics, the United States would be joining this institution, but because of the environment on the Hill (in Washington), the United States is not only not in position where it could join this institution and get it approved by Congress, it cannot get even basic reform in the IMF through in a way that would make the existing institutions more attractive to the rising powers.”
The U.S. Congress has failed to approve reforms of voting rights for the International Monetary Fund. The delay has led China and other countries to consider setting up their own institutions as a way to gain more influence in world economic governance. U.S. officials say they welcome new multi-lateral institutions that would observe high standards that the international community has built. China says it will carry on with high standards. But most details will not become clear until the new bank is in operation.
The bank is expected to start with $100 billion in capital, mostly from China.
本时文内容由奇速英语国际教育研究院原创编写,禁止复制和任何商业用途,版权所有,侵权必究!