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Security Times: Breakthroughs in China’s Diplomacy on Finance

On August 28, a scholar from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences published an article on the Shenzhen based Security Times titled, "Breakthroughs in China’s Diplomacy on Finance." Some translated excerpts follow.
"In recent years, the bright spot in China’s diplomacy in the financial area is its performance at the G20 summit as a major developing country. China thus entered the inner circle of global economic governance, with its influence continuing to expand."
"In the field of international finance, China has been pushing two initiatives. The first is to continue to expand the scope and scale of bilateral currency swaps. As of the end of May 2014, China had signed currency swap agreements with 23 countries and regions, amounting to 2.567 trillion yuan ($0.41 trillion). The second is to build an Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BRICS Development Bank to provide financial support to the economic development of the region and to other developing countries. Initiatives advocated by China also include a regional foreign exchange reserve, with China as the largest contributor, and the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Development Bank."
"The 2008 financial crisis highlighted the serious flaws in the international monetary system with the dollar as the main reserve currency and also discredited the Washington-led model of the global economic governance system. The majority of developing countries are eager to reform the global economic governance system, especially the global monetary system. The G20 summit mechanisms in recent years have made useful attempts, but the G20 decision to reform the IMF and the World Bank’s quota and voting shares stalled because the U.S. Congress disapproved."
"China’s plan to build the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has seen substantial progress. It is understood that the AIIB may raise capital from the initial proposal of $50 billion to $100 billion, which is not far from the Asian Development Bank’s $165 billion fund size. However, the parties have yet to reach an agreement. The AIIB’s funds will be used for infrastructure in Asia on projects that may include the new Silk Road connecting Asia and Europe. Twenty-two Asian countries, including a few Middle Eastern countries, have expressed a strong interest in this project. China has had in-depth discussions with Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern, and European countries and Australia, and is in contact with the United States, Japan and India."
"In mid-July, the BRICS summit was held in Brazil. The parties have a solid anticipation that the BRICS Development Bank, headquartered in Shanghai, will become a reality."
"As we all know, the Federal Reserve, Wall Street, the IMF and other organizations are part of the dollar hegemony. For the developing countries to change the global financial landscape, they need to break through the institutional barriers in order to counterbalance the dollar hegemony. The BRICS countries’ establishment of foreign exchange contingency arrangements and a development bank will have a profound practical and historical significance for actively participating in global financial governance and reforming the international financial system."
Source: Security Times, August 28, 2014
http://epaper.stcn.com/paper/zqsb/html/2014-08/28/content_607308.htm