The US should get off the sidelines and use its influence to help shape the design of China's new investment bank. In exchange for participating, the Obama administration should insist that the focus be on financing infrastructure projects that reduce carbon-dioxide emissions and meet the highest environmental standards.
WASHINGTON, DC – The United States, along with Canada and Japan, has been conspicuously absent from the discussions regarding the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). A total of 57 countries – from Europe, Asia, and Latin America – have joined the Chinese-led effort to spend $100 billion on roads, rail lines, bridges, and harbors throughout the region. But President Barack Obama’s administration has remained reluctant to join – much to the bewilderment of China’s government.
WASHINGTON, DC – The United States, along with Canada and Japan, has been conspicuously absent from the discussions regarding the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). A total of 57 countries – from Europe, Asia, and Latin America – have joined the Chinese-led effort to spend $100 billion on roads, rail lines, bridges, and harbors throughout the region. But President Barack Obama’s administration has remained reluctant to join – much to the bewilderment of China’s government.