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Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the “One Belt, One Road” Strategy

China Review News republished an article that Chinese economist Xian Langping wrote discussing China’s rise. Xian stated that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and China’s "One Belt, One Road" strategy are tightly integrated to support China’s continued economic growth and its international influence.

Xian explained that, on October 24, 2014, China and 20 other countries, including India and Singapore, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the AIIB. These 20 countries share some commonalities: first, they are China’s neighbors; second, they are in the "One Belt, One Road" zone; and third, they are cooperating or have the intention to cooperate with China to build high-speed railways.

China’s "One Belt, One Road" strategy is to build roads and railways to connect the countries in the zone. It will create economic growth opportunities (e.g. the export of high-speed railway system and construction materials) for China and will also expand international trade (so that China can export more goods to these countries).

Even though the contributions of the AIIB member countries are based on their GDPs and in theory, the U.S. can have the loudest voice if it joins, Xian believes that the U.S. will not join. To him, the bank was created to serve infrastructure development; more specifically, high-speed rail construction. China has a big advantage in this field. If the U.S. were to make any contribution, it would only benefit China.

Source: China Review News, April 26, 2015
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1037/2/6/7/103726773.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=103726773&mdate=0426080715