103
China’s new financial institute was not welcomed by the US, who identified the
AIIB as a challenge to the existing regional and global development institutions
whose establishment it has supported since the end of World War II. The US not
only refused to join AIIB bank itself but even began a soft diplomatic campaign to
dissuade allies from joining too (www.foreignaffairs.com 2017).
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Central Asia
The importance China places on involvement in Central Asia is self-evident, and
investment in the region extending around the Caspian Sea provides the best means
of cementing its political and economic place in the region. The newly established
AIIB may be the key to unlocking and even expanding this strategy further. In 2016,
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) revealed its first financial details,
as a move in preparation for the release of its first investment loan. The Chinesesupported development bank, which was strengthened by the addition of Switzerland
to its member nations, will be involved in road projects in Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and
Tajikistan, and expects to lend US$1.4bn by June 2016. In June 2016, AIIB signed
a cooperation agreement with the World Bank stipulating the institutions work
together on project financing. Upon signing the agreement, AIIB President Jin
Laquan stated that “It is not a very good idea for one bank to spend $2bn or $3bn on
one project. The projects the AIIB has announced will see its early forays into
financing projects as very much of a collaborative nature, as has been the suggestion
in recent months” (www.gtreview.com 2016). As Wang Zhi posits, the New Silk
Road offers mutual benefits for China and the US. After all, the writer argues, China
needs the US’ assistance to counter Russian dominance in Central Asia. China can
use its economic influence to preserve regional stability while focusing its resources
on internal affairs, and thus where its Western region and bordering nations are
concerned, there may be no serious conflict of interest with the United States (Zhi
2016:76).
International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC)
The need for transport routes for raw materials and hydrocarbons to be carried to
and from Central Asia to European markets has led to the construction and design
of extensive railway and transport networks across the region. In 1993, transport
ministers from a number of European countries met at the Commission for Europe
of Helsinki to discuss an alternate route for commercial connections between Asia
and Europe and decided to pursue links from the countries bordering the Indian
Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and Southeast Asia to Northern Europe, Scandinavia and
Russia via Iran. In September of 2000, Iran, Russia, and India came together in
Saint Petersburg with the aim of promoting transportation cooperation among the
Regional Security and Economic Organization and Projects
China’s new financial institute was not welcomed by the US, who identified the
AIIB as a challenge to the existing regional and global development institutions
whose establishment it has supported since the end of World War II. The US not
only refused to join AIIB bank itself but even began a soft diplomatic campaign to
dissuade allies from joining too (www.foreignaffairs.com 2017).
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Central Asia
The importance China places on involvement in Central Asia is self-evident, and
investment in the region extending around the Caspian Sea provides the best means
of cementing its political and economic place in the region. The newly established
AIIB may be the key to unlocking and even expanding this strategy further. In 2016,
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) revealed its first financial details,
as a move in preparation for the release of its first investment loan. The Chinesesupported development bank, which was strengthened by the addition of Switzerland
to its member nations, will be involved in road projects in Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and
Tajikistan, and expects to lend US$1.4bn by June 2016. In June 2016, AIIB signed
a cooperation agreement with the World Bank stipulating the institutions work
together on project financing. Upon signing the agreement, AIIB President Jin
Laquan stated that “It is not a very good idea for one bank to spend $2bn or $3bn on
one project. The projects the AIIB has announced will see its early forays into
financing projects as very much of a collaborative nature, as has been the suggestion
in recent months” (www.gtreview.com 2016). As Wang Zhi posits, the New Silk
Road offers mutual benefits for China and the US. After all, the writer argues, China
needs the US’ assistance to counter Russian dominance in Central Asia. China can
use its economic influence to preserve regional stability while focusing its resources
on internal affairs, and thus where its Western region and bordering nations are
concerned, there may be no serious conflict of interest with the United States (Zhi
2016:76).
International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC)
The need for transport routes for raw materials and hydrocarbons to be carried to
and from Central Asia to European markets has led to the construction and design
of extensive railway and transport networks across the region. In 1993, transport
ministers from a number of European countries met at the Commission for Europe
of Helsinki to discuss an alternate route for commercial connections between Asia
and Europe and decided to pursue links from the countries bordering the Indian
Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and Southeast Asia to Northern Europe, Scandinavia and
Russia via Iran. In September of 2000, Iran, Russia, and India came together in
Saint Petersburg with the aim of promoting transportation cooperation among the
Regional Security and Economic Organization and Projects