PRESS RELEASE
China Welcomes U.S.A. under Trump To Join the AIIB
Nov. 19, 2016 (EIRNS)—China has welcomed the indication, based on the statement by James Woolsey, who has advised Donald Trump on foreign policy, that the new U.S. Administration may join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Woolsey has referred to Obama’s refusal to join the AIIB at the beginning as a "strategic mistake."
China Daily editorializes today that U.S. policy was itself to blame for China initiating the AIIB, by "dragging its feet on the International Monetary Fund’s quota reform to give developing economies a bigger say in that organization." The editorial states that the U.S.
"attributed its opposition to joining the newly established investment bank to concerns that the bank may fail to meet existing international standards, even though its founding members have committed to working together to ensure it follows the best standards and practices in governance, transparency, environmental and labor issues. The stance it adopted simply reveals the outgoing U.S. administration’s true concern that the AIIB would challenge or reduce the influence of the U.S.-dominated Bretton Woods institutions such as the World Bank.
"In fact," it continues,
"the funds available from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank fall far short of the massive need for investment in infrastructure in Asia. Rather than competing with these institutions, the AIIB is designed to make up for the shortfall in international financial support for infrastructure development and regional connectivity in Asia. The proposed investment in Asian transport, energy and telecommunication sectors also offers huge business opportunities to companies from member countries—one of the reasons why many of Washington’s allies in the West such as Britain, Italy and Germany have joined the AIIB despite opposition from the U.S."
It concludes:
"But as the Chinese saying goes, it is never too late to mend the fold after a sheep is lost. The U.S. has nothing to lose by becoming a member of the AIIB, which is built on the promises of being open, inclusive, and transparent. The U.S. can also play a more constructive role by being a member than by remaining outside it. Joining the AIIB would be a good signal by the new Trump administration that the U.S. is more willing to act as a responsible global power."
