Beijing says Taiwan is welcome to join AIIB, with ‘appropriate name’
THE Chinese mainland welcomes Taiwan’s participation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank under an appropriate name, a government spokesman said yesterday.
The State Council Taiwan Affairs Office has received Taiwan’s letter of intent on joining the bank and has transferred it to the Multilateral Interim Secretariat for the AIIB, said Ma Xiaoguang, the office’s spokesman.
“The AIIB is open and inclusive. We welcome Taiwan to participate ... under an appropriate name,” he said.
Taiwan on Tuesday issued a statement announcing its intention to join the bank. The island is a member of the Asian Development Bank under the name of Taipei, China.
Israel and Iceland also submitted applications to join the AIIB on Tuesday, the final day for the receipt of such requests.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed a letter requesting membership of the AIIB, Emmanuel Nahshon, a spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said yesterday.
The Middle East country hopes that its membership of the new bank will “create opportunities for Israeli companies to be incorporated into different infrastructure-related projects,” the ministry said in a statement.
Iceland’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs said in a statement on its website that as a member of the AIIB, the European nation will continue to strengthen its good relations with Asian countries.
The AIIB is designed to be an international financial institution that funds infrastructure projects in Asia. It is expected to be formally established by the end of the year after its prospective founding members have signed and ratified the Articles of Agreement.
About 50 countries have applied to be founding members, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and Denmark. The United States and Japan are the most notable absentees.
Countries and regions that failed to meet the Tuesday deadline will still be able to join, but only as common members.
The International Monetary Fund, ADB and other international financial bodies have already expressed their willingness to cooperate with the bank, which was proposed by China and will have its headquarters in Beijing.
The AIIB’s authorized capital is expected to be US$100 billion with initial capital of about US$50 billion.
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