US could join China-backed AIIB in wake of Trump win, bank chief says

AIIB president Jin Liqun says the lender cannot rule out US interest in joining the China-backed bank. Photo: Xinhua

 

Jin Liqun says some of Trump’s advisers think Washington was wrong to oppose the new regional lender

The United States might reverse course and partner with the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank after Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president, the head of the lender signalled on Monday.

AIIB chief Jin Liqun said he understood some Trump advisers thought the US was wrong not to join the new regional lender, Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily reported ­on Monday.

China-backed AIIB ‘on track to meet 2016 lending targets’

The China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is “on track” to meet its big first-year targets, including lending US$1.2 billion by the end of 2016, bank president Jin Liqun said on Friday.

After bringing many US allies on board and a high-profile launch in January, the multilateral lender moved onto the business of raising funds, gaining expertise, and recruiting experienced executives.

The bank, part of Beijing’s push to expand its regional clout, has lent US$829 million to six projects in Pakistan, Tajikistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

How China successfully redrew the global financial map with AIIB

From worries that it would not raise enough funds to concerns other nations would not support it, Beijing was plagued by self-doubt when it first considered setting up the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in early 2013, two sources with knowledge of internal discussions said.

However, promises by some Middle East governments to stump up cash and the support of key European nations – to Beijing’s surprise and despite US opposition – proved a turning point in China’s plans to alter the global financial architecture.

AIIB President Describes Launch by End of 2015 as Priority

TBILISI (Sputnik) — The first president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Jin Liqun, said Tuesday it would be his priority to ensure the bank is operational by the end of 2015.

“My main priority will be to finalize the operational and financial policies as well as to take practical steps which will help to launch the bank until the end of the year,” Jin Liqun said at a press conference following his election to the AIIB presidential post.

China Just Threatened a Currency War if the Fed Doesn’t Stop Printing

The tension between Central Banks that we noted yesterday continues to worsen. This time it was China and the EU, not just Germany, that fired warning shots at the US Fed.

A senior Chinese official said on Friday that the United States should cut back on printing money to stimulate its economy if the world is to have confidence in the dollar.

Asked whether he was worried about the dollar, the chairman of China’s sovereign wealth fund, the China Investment Corporation, Jin Liqun, told the World Economic Forum in Davos: “I am a little bit worried.”