By Jane Perlez, NY Times, Oct. 9, 2014
BEIJING—For almost a year, China has been pitching an idea to its neighbors in Asia: a big, internationally funded bank that would offer quick financing for badly needed transportation, telecommunications and energy projects in underdeveloped countries across the region.
With the public backing of President Xi Jinping and a pledge from Beijing to contribute much of the $50 billion in initial capital, the plan could be seen as an answer to critics who have long argued that China should take on greater responsibilities as a world power. But the United States, perhaps the most vocal of such critics, especially on issues such as climate change and arms proliferation, has not embraced the Chinese proposal.
Instead, in quiet conversations with China’s potential partners, American officials have lobbied against the development bank with unexpected determination and engaged in a vigorous campaign to persuade important allies to shun the project, according to senior United States officials and representatives of other governments involved.
The dispute, the latest manifestation of Chinese-American competition in Asia, could escalate in coming weeks, as Beijing pushes to confirm South Korea and Australia as founding partners of the bank in time for Mr. Xi to formally announce it at a summit meeting of Asian leaders in November. President Obama is scheduled to attend the meeting, and Washington is pressing the two countries to reject the Chinese plan.
Beijing has asked dozens of nations to contribute funds to the bank, which it calls the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and hopes it will become a global institution that rivals the World Bank. To give it broader scope, the Chinese have invited and won the support of some wealthy Middle East nations, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia. But if Washington persuades South Korea and Australia to abstain, it would all but ensure membership in the bank would be limited to smaller countries, depriving it of the prestige and respectability the Chinese seek.
The United States Treasury Department has criticized the bank as a deliberate effort to undercut the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, international financial institutions established after World War II that are dominated by the United States and Japan, senior South Korean and Australian officials said. Washington also sees the bank as a political tool for China to knit countries in Southeast Asia closer to its orbit, a soft-power push that promises economic benefits while polishing its image among neighbors anxious about its territorial claims.
But Washington’s arguments run up against undisputed needs on the ground in Asia—needs that existing institutions have been unable to meet, some development experts said.
The Asian Development Bank estimated in 2009 that the region would need as much as $8 trillion in investments in physical infrastructure by 2020—an amount that exceeds what it or the World Bank can muster, experts at the two banks said.
Clay Lowery, a senior United States Treasury official from 2005 to 2009, said the Obama administration’s objections are not entirely well founded. The Chinese plan, he argued, “could be a positive development—potentially a great way to get Asian countries to work together on significant financial needs in the region.”
Australia, which depends on China for its economic well-being and on the United States for its security, has not announced if it will support the Chinese proposal. But the government was ready to sign up if China meets its conditions on how the bank will be governed, said Peter Drysdale, a professor of economics at Australian National University who has advised Australian governments.
Mr. Drysdale described American opposition to the bank as a “churlish” reaction to the “economic and diplomatic kudos” that China might win.
One American ally has already signed up despite being urged by Washington to reject the Chinese proposal: Singapore became a founding member two months ago, saying it wanted to shape the bank from the inside rather than remain as a critic on the outside.
BEIJING—For almost a year, China has been pitching an idea to its neighbors in Asia: a big, internationally funded bank that would offer quick financing for badly needed transportation, telecommunications and energy projects in underdeveloped countries across the region.
With the public backing of President Xi Jinping and a pledge from Beijing to contribute much of the $50 billion in initial capital, the plan could be seen as an answer to critics who have long argued that China should take on greater responsibilities as a world power. But the United States, perhaps the most vocal of such critics, especially on issues such as climate change and arms proliferation, has not embraced the Chinese proposal.
Instead, in quiet conversations with China’s potential partners, American officials have lobbied against the development bank with unexpected determination and engaged in a vigorous campaign to persuade important allies to shun the project, according to senior United States officials and representatives of other governments involved.
The dispute, the latest manifestation of Chinese-American competition in Asia, could escalate in coming weeks, as Beijing pushes to confirm South Korea and Australia as founding partners of the bank in time for Mr. Xi to formally announce it at a summit meeting of Asian leaders in November. President Obama is scheduled to attend the meeting, and Washington is pressing the two countries to reject the Chinese plan.
Beijing has asked dozens of nations to contribute funds to the bank, which it calls the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and hopes it will become a global institution that rivals the World Bank. To give it broader scope, the Chinese have invited and won the support of some wealthy Middle East nations, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia. But if Washington persuades South Korea and Australia to abstain, it would all but ensure membership in the bank would be limited to smaller countries, depriving it of the prestige and respectability the Chinese seek.
The United States Treasury Department has criticized the bank as a deliberate effort to undercut the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, international financial institutions established after World War II that are dominated by the United States and Japan, senior South Korean and Australian officials said. Washington also sees the bank as a political tool for China to knit countries in Southeast Asia closer to its orbit, a soft-power push that promises economic benefits while polishing its image among neighbors anxious about its territorial claims.
But Washington’s arguments run up against undisputed needs on the ground in Asia—needs that existing institutions have been unable to meet, some development experts said.
The Asian Development Bank estimated in 2009 that the region would need as much as $8 trillion in investments in physical infrastructure by 2020—an amount that exceeds what it or the World Bank can muster, experts at the two banks said.
Clay Lowery, a senior United States Treasury official from 2005 to 2009, said the Obama administration’s objections are not entirely well founded. The Chinese plan, he argued, “could be a positive development—potentially a great way to get Asian countries to work together on significant financial needs in the region.”
Australia, which depends on China for its economic well-being and on the United States for its security, has not announced if it will support the Chinese proposal. But the government was ready to sign up if China meets its conditions on how the bank will be governed, said Peter Drysdale, a professor of economics at Australian National University who has advised Australian governments.
Mr. Drysdale described American opposition to the bank as a “churlish” reaction to the “economic and diplomatic kudos” that China might win.
One American ally has already signed up despite being urged by Washington to reject the Chinese proposal: Singapore became a founding member two months ago, saying it wanted to shape the bank from the inside rather than remain as a critic on the outside.
1 Comments:
Gaddafi of Libya tried to make a Regional Bank for Western Africa to compete with the IMF and World Bank, except he would loan money interest free and thus help stimulate real growth for Africa. The International Bankers do not want anyone or any group of people interfering with their plans for further world domination. Whether or not the BRICS Regional Banks are within their plan or are in opposition remains to be seen. But it looks as if one empire may be coming to an end and another is emerging.
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