China's military honor guard perform welcoming ceremony duties for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese Premier Li Kiqiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 15. India is expected to be the second-largest shareholder in the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI |
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BEIJING, June 28 (UPI) -- The 57 founding members of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are to meet Monday in Beijing at a signing ceremony – a bank the United States and Japan, two of the world's biggest economies, have declined to join.
The new bank's first president, Jin Liqun, is a former Chinese deputy finance minister, according to The Wall Street Journal. China is expected to have effective veto power over major decisions, with its more than 25 percent voting share.
The significant influence China could wield over policy has raised questions about the bank's direction.
Li Xi, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said that if China is not careful, or doesn't recognize it takes more than money or threats to the AIIB's success, the bank could "still fall apart."
Neighboring countries like the Philippines are acting cautiously. Manila's National Treasurer Roberto Tan is planning to attend the Monday ceremony, but does not plan to sign on as a founding member.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said his country wants to ensure AIIB's economic policies are not subjected to the "vagaries of politics" between China and the Philippines.
The two nations are embroiled in a dispute over territory in the South China Sea.
In some quarters, however, the AIIB is being heralded for its initiative, and its willingness to work at a multilateral level on future projects and investment.
The South China Morning Post reported the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development hoped to work with AIIB to confront climate change and cooperate on investment in sustainable infrastructure.
"The potential for synergy and for making a real, lasting difference on the ground is huge," Suma Chakrabarti said.
China's pledge to decrease bureaucracy that slows projects has attracted significant support from Europe, Australia and Asia, and has added to the speed at which the AIIB has gathered momentum.
Still, said Ralph W. Huenemann, a former consultant to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, less bureaucracy comes with the risk that "white elephants will be approved to curry favor with the political leaders of client countries."
