AIIB proves to world it can meet requirements of the 21st century
has indisputably proved to the world that this is a genuine multilateral development agency that operates in accordance with high international standards, said Jin Liqun, president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, in a recent interview with China Newsweek. The following are excerpts of Jin’s interview:
OUR PERFORMANCE
When the AIIB opened on Jan 16, 2016, there were many doubting voices saying that the bank lacked transparency, and that China had an absolute say over it.
Yet the bank’s fast development and performance over the past three years — it now has 93 members compared with 57 three years ago, and it has approved an investment totaling $7.5 billion on projects in developing countries in Asia and beyond — are testimony to its professionalism and vitality.
The AIIB has a series of investment policies, principles and risk management and control plans. It invests in financially sustainable and environmentally friendly projects that are popular with local people.
The AIIB will not invest heavily in projects where the local technology and conditions are not mature, even if the projects are badly needed by locals and are environmentally friendly. The bank pays special attention to a recipient country’s preparation for a project to ensure the project can be finished on time.
The AIIB has drawn lessons from the experiences of the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other multilateral development agencies, and strives to keep a good balance between profitability and its mission of promoting common
development and interconnectivity.
The Chinese government has never directly intervened in the bank’s operation, but has played its due role as a major shareholder on the board. That dozens of new members joined the AIIB over the past three years speaks volumes about the bank’s performance and attraction.
That the United States and Japan, as two major economies, have not joined the AIIB does not mean they are suspicious of the transparency and management of the bank. In fact, many US think tanks, government departments and rating agencies speak highly of the AIIB. The bank also has kept good communications with financial agencies in Japan and the US.
As a young multinational development agency, the AIIB will continue to strengthen cooperation with other parties to constantly improve its professionalism and sustainability.
China believes that it must support the existing system, but it also knows it needs to be reformed. Therefore, the significance of the AIIB is not only to provide some funds to make up for the lack of infrastructure funds, but more importantly, to reflect the development experiences of the vast number of developing countries in the past three or four decades, which have enriched the international economic and financial cooperation mechanism.