China-backed AIIB secures World Bank deal
Highest-profile agreement since Beijing-based group accused of being infiltrated by Chinese Communist party
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, headquartered in Beijing, has capital it is keen to deploy © Imagine China/Reuters
Joe Leahy in Beijing and Alec Russell in London 7 HOURS AGO
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Beijing’s answer to the World Bank, has approved one of its highest-profile international partnerships, just weeks after it was accused of being infiltrated by China’s Communist party.
The AIIB’s board last week approved a proposal to issue $1bn in credit guarantees against sovereign-backed loans made by the World Bank’s lending arm, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The partnership comes as multilateral development banks are trying to think more ambitiously about their role in mobilising finance. A G20 working group on capital adequacy last year recommended that development banks expand their use of financial innovation to provide additional lending capacity.
The deal with the AIIB will allow the World Bank to overcome financing constraints and issue new lending while its Beijing-headquartered counterpart will be able to better deploy its surplus capital to a broader mix of borrowers.
As a relatively young institution — it was set up in 2015 - the AIIB has only used about 43 per cent of its capital base, with committed financing of about $37bn, meaning it still has a lot of unused lending capacity.
Danny Alexander, vice-president for policy and strategy at the AIIB, linked the partnership to a broader global effort to increase financing for climate challenges by “deepening co-operation and increasing the firepower” of multilateral development banks.
“This transaction will strengthen the financing capacity of both institutions and is an example of how we can do more by working together,” he said. The proposal was first mooted by both institutions in June shortly after the AIIB’s Canadian former head of communications, Bob Pickard, abruptly left the bank, alleging that the Communist party was running it from the shadows “like an internal secret police”.
The AIIB’s internal review this month concluded that it “follows the highest standards of multilateral governance” and there was no “undue influence” on decisions taken by the board of directors or management. The deal with the World Bank would enable the AIIB to diversify its portfolio and increase lending to low-income borrowers, said Oliver Burnage, head of the Beijing-based bank’s portfolio risk management department. For the World Bank, the plan would “provide relief against capital constraints” for the Washington-based institution, enabling it to extend fresh loans, according to a statement issued by the Washington-based institution in June. The World Bank has not announced its approval of the plan and did not respond to a request for comment.
The AIIB, which was launched as a Chinese-led alternative to the World Bank and other western-led multilateral organisations, has 106 members including India, the UK, France, Australia, Canada and South Korea. The US and Japan have not joined. China has a 26.6 per cent voting stake in the bank, which gives it veto power over important decisions.
Since its inauguration, the AIIB has signed co-operation agreements with the World Bank, with which it has co-financed a number of deals. It has a triple A rating, important for multilateral banks because it allows them to borrow cheaply and lend at lower rates to low-income countries. Recommended InterviewAsian Infrastructure Investment Bank China’s AIIB calls for multilateral lenders to keep prized preferred creditor status
Pickard’s allegations prompted Canada to halt all government-led activity at the bank while it launched a review. Pickard said at the time the Communist party was like an “invisible government” inside the bank. He did not provide specific examples of party interference in the AIIB’s high-level decision-making. The AIIB internal review said the bank had “a solid governance structure, comparable to and built on the lessons learned from other multilateral development banks”. “Half of AIIB’s financing has been co-financed with other [multilateral development banks],” the review said. “[The AIIB] also benefits from an AAA credit rating at all three of the principal agencies, which also assess the Bank’s governance positively.”
Pickard’s accusations come amid an increasingly acrimonious geopolitical environment between China and the US and its allies. The allegations have also heightened tensions between Beijing and Canada, with Chinese state media last month attacking Ottawa’s statements on the controversy as a “politically motivated claim to discredit AIIB”.
风波中 英媒称亚投行与世行达成巨额协议
总部位于北京的亚投行近日批准了一项引人注目的提案，向世界银行的贷款机构国际复兴开发银行提供10亿美元信贷担保。而就在不久前，亚投行刚被指控受到中共渗透。
21.07.2023
亚洲基础设施投资银行（AIIB，简称“亚投行”）总部设在北京，法定资本1000亿美元。 《金融时报》报道指出，亚投行目前仍有大量未使用的贷款能力
英媒《金融时报》7月21日报道，亚洲基础设施投资银行（AIIB，简称“亚投行”）上周批准了一项提案，为国际复兴开发银行（IBRD）的主权贷款提供10 亿美元的信贷担保。
国际复兴开发银行是世界银行的贷款机构。根据联合国官网介绍，国际复兴开发银行致力于通过贷款、担保、风险管理产品、分析和咨询服务促进中等收入国家和信誉良好贫穷国家的可持续发展，从而减少贫困。
《金融时报》报道指出，与亚投行达成的最新协议将使世界银行能够克服融资限制并发放新贷款，而亚投行将能够更好地将其剩余资本部署到更广泛的借款人组合中。亚投行目前仅使用了其资本基础的 43%，承诺融资额约为 370 亿美元，这意味着它仍有大量未使用的贷款能力。
亚投行方面表示，与世行的最新合作将加强这两家金融机构的融资能力，也将使亚投行的投资组合多样化，并增加对低收入借款方的贷款。不过，《金融时报》也指出，世行尚且没有宣布批准该计划，也没有回应其置评请求。
亚投行--中国主导成立的多边金融机构
亚投行总部设于北京，是全球首个由中国倡议设立的多边金融机构，旨在向亚洲各国家和地区政府提供资金，以支持基础设施建设等开发项目。
普遍认为，这个由中国主导成立、2016年正式启动的金融机构，为一带一路倡议提供融资，旨在制衡世界银行、国际货币基金组织等西方国家主导金融机构的主导地位。不过，中方在亚投行成立之际曾多次表示，在亚洲基础设施融资需求巨大的情况下，由于定位和业务重点不同，亚投行与现有多边开发银行是互补而非竞争关系。
中国在亚投行拥有最高的投票权，占有近27%的权重，在重要决策上拥有一票否决权。从亚投行成立至今，其行长一直是中国前财政部副部长、银行家金立群。
自成立以来，亚投行已经与世界银行签署了多项合作协议，并与世界银行共同资助了多个项目。亚投行与世界银行的这一最新合作受到舆论关注，其中一个原因是亚投行在不久前刚被指控受到中共渗透。
近日的“毒文化”风波
今年6月，亚投行的加拿大籍全球联络主管毕加博（Bob Pickard）突然离职，他声称，亚投行管理层“受到共产党员主宰”，组织内部充满“有毒文化”。毕加博当时发推特说：“身为爱国的加拿大人，这是我唯一的选择。”
在毕加博的指控后，亚投行成员国加拿宣布暂时冻结在该银行所有由政府主导的活动，并启动调查。亚投行迄今有106个国家和政府成员，加拿大于2018年3月加入。
亚投行在7月7日公布了内部审查结果，称毕加博的指控“毫无根据”，亚投行董事会以及管理层没有受到不当影响。
在毕加博事件后，《南华早报》在7月16日刊登了一篇来自北外法学院副教授顾宾的一篇客座评论，称从亚投行的信誉危机中可以吸取“三个经验教训”。前两个分别是危机管理和员工行为准则管理的重要性，第三个是“需要更好理解身为共产党员的员工的作用”。这篇评论称：“毕加博的言辞反映出他对党员在这个机构中所扮角色的深刻误解。……中国共产党员在一个机构中的作用相当于基督教在邻里中的作用。共产主义信仰促使一个人在企业中成为好榜样，就像基督教价值观促使一个人行善一样。党员在日常生活中自己做决定，不受党的控制。”
世界银行有了一位新行长！
亚洲基础设施投资银行行长金立群日前在接受中国官方媒体《人民日报》采访时表示，特朗普当选总统后，美国新政府有可能会重新考虑是否加入这一由中国主导的国际金融机构。
世行新行长称“不认为中国是竞争对手”，美媒：观点与耶伦说的有矛盾
环球网 2023-06-14
【环球网报道 记者 张晓雅】“世界银行新任行长承诺避免卷入美中竞争。”彭博社当地时间6月14日以此为题报道称，由拜登政府提名、任期五年并于本月早些时候接管世行行长一职的阿贾伊•班加（中文名：彭安杰）在接受采访时称，他不认为中国是世行的所谓竞争对手，并承诺避免卷入华盛顿与北京之间的竞争。
报道说，班加在受访时表示，由于气候变化和发展问题过于紧迫，他无需担心如何应对世界两大经济体之间的紧张关系。
“我们要怎么解决这些问题？”班加说，“我会尽我最大的努力解决，但我不会与这些竞争纠缠在一起。我就是不会。”
阿贾伊•班加 资料图 图自彭博社
报道说，班加还表示，世行应探索为私营部门承担更多风险的方式，此举旨在为加大抗击贫困和气候变化的投资扫清障碍。班加说，他将在任期内尽其所能解决发展中国家面临的挑战。
“我不把中国视为竞争对手，”他说，“你需要让每一方都参与进来。”
彭博社说，班加的言论与美国国会和白宫的论调背道而驰。美国会议员和白宫高级官员将中国描述为美国“最重要的战略竞争对手”，他们还发起了一场全球运动，劝阻其他国家不要与中国合作开发和基础设施项目，敦促这些国家与美国及其盟友合作。
“他的观点也与美国财长耶伦的观点相矛盾。”彭博社还提到耶伦13日在众议院金融服务委员会听证会上做出的涉华表态。当时耶伦提出，像国际货币基金组织以及世界银行这样的国际组织，所反映的是美国的价值观，它们发挥的重要作用可以制衡“来自于中国以及其他国家不可持续的贷款”，并且认为中国没有资格得到世界银行的贷款。
在14日举行的中国外交部例行记者会上，外交部发言人汪文斌在回应有关耶伦的提问时表示，国际货币基金组织和世界银行是多边金融机构，是反映国际关系民主化的平台，在充分反映各成员国利益的基础上推动国际合作。它们不是“美国国际货币基金组织”，也不是“美国世界银行”。中国始终遵循国际规则，基于公开透明原则，同发展中国家开展投融资合作，不附加任何政治条件，不寻求任何政治私利，中国一直帮助发展中国家缓解债务负担，在二十国集团还债倡议当中所做的贡献最大。
汪文斌表示，“我还想告诉大家的是，世界银行统计的数据显示，在发展中国家的主权债务当中，多边金融机构和商业债权人占比超过八成，这是发展中国家债务压力的最大来源。去年以来，美国以前所未有的幅度加息，使有关国家债务问题雪上加霜，导致全球金融市场震荡加剧。美国应当拿出实际行动，帮助发展中国家推动多边金融机构积极参与债务处理问题，而不是把地缘对抗那一套引入多边金融机构。”
世行总部设在华盛顿，美国是世行最大股东国。长期以来，世行行长一直由美国人担任。随着新兴市场经济体和发展中国家在全球经济中的影响力日益上升，不少学者认为世行应当打破美国人把持行长职务的惯例，更多考虑发展中国家的利益和关切。
责编：樊羽玮
