China pushed ahead with the creation of its proposed $50 billion Asia regional bank by signing a memorandum today with 21 countries, which didn’t include South Korea (005930), Australia and Indonesia.
The proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, first put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping in October last year, is a key component of China’s efforts to expand its regional influence. The bank, a potential rival to existing institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, has been opposed by the U.S., which has asked its allies not to participate, the New York Times reported earlier this month.
The 21 “prospective founding member countries” at today’s signing ceremony included India, Vietnam, Singapore, Qatar, Thailand, Mongolia and Myanmar, according to a pool report of the event. Xi told delegates from the countries that all Asian nations “understand the importance of seeking strength through unity” and the AIIB will welcome participation by all countries either from within or outside of Asia.
South Korea and Australia had previously attended preparatory talks for the regional bank last month, according to the photo of a meeting on the Chinese Ministry of Finance’s website. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry requested at a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott in Jakarta this week that Australia not join the bank, the Australian Financial Review reported.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Xin Zhou in Beijing at xzhou68@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Malcolm Scott at mscott23@bloomberg.net John Liu, Stephanie Phang
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