BEIJING: Canada will apply to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, Canadian and bank officials said on Wednesday, making it the latest ally of the United States to join the new international development bank.
The multilateral institution, seen as a rival to the Western-dominated World Bank and Asian Development Bank, was initially opposed by the United States but attracted many U.S. allies including Britain, Germany, Australia and South Korea as founding members.
Japan and the United States are the most prominent countries not represented in the bank.
“This is really for us, as a new government, the earliest possibility at which we could indicate our interest,” Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in response to a question why Canada was only applying to join the bank now.
“We believe the bank is clearly showing that it’s going to be a highly effective multilateral institution,” he added.
Morneau is on a trip to China with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seeking to deepen ties with the world’s second-largest economy, a distinct change from former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s more cautious approach to China.
Full article: Canada applies to join China-backed AIIB, latest US ally to apply (Channel NewsAsia)
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