Canada will apply to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Ottawa\u2019s finance department said Wednesday, in a coup for Beijing after Washington had tried to dissuade US allies from signing up.<\/p>\n
\u201cMembership in the AIIB is an opportunity to do just that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Beijing-headquartered multilateral lender, which began operations earlier this year, has been seen by some as a rival to the World Bank and the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank, which was founded in 1966.<\/p>\n
The $100 billion AIIB counts several major European countries among its shareholders after they joined up despite the objections of the United States, which remains by far the world\u2019s largest economy and hosts both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.<\/p>\n
Critics feared the new bank would set much lower standards for projects and undermine principles of social, environmental and economic sustainability adhered to by the World Bank and other multilateral development finance institutions.<\/p>\n
AIIB president Jin Liqun welcomed Canada\u2019s decision, which he called \u201ca vote of confidence\u201d in the institution that showed Ottawa\u2019s \u201cconfidence in the strong foundations the bank has built in our first few months\u201d.<\/p>\n
The US and Japan-the world\u2019s third-largest economy-have notably declined to join the AIIB.<\/p>\n
In a speech Morneau suggested Canada was seeking to strike a balance between its close ally and neighbour the US, and the growing Asian giant.<\/p>\n
China is Canada\u2019s second-largest trading partner after the United States, with exchanges topping Can$85 billion ($66.5 billion) last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have important relationships with the world\u2019s most powerful nations and have developed a capacity for mutual accommodation and governance,\u201d Morneau said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShould we become the first North American member of the AIIB, I have every confidence that we bring constructive and balanced views to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joining the China-backed lender would create jobs and business opportunities for Canadians, he said, adding: \u201cParticipation in the bank is clearly in Canada\u2019s best interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Overall interest\u2019 –<\/p>\n
Canada\u2019s announcement came during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau\u2019s visit to China, where he met Prime Minister Li Keqiang to try to strengthen ties before the G20 summit this weekend in Hangzhou.<\/p>\n
The relationship has been strained recently by Chinese plans to impose new rules on canola imports, which could risk Can$2 billion a year of Canadian oilseed sales to the Asian giant.<\/p>\n
They were due to come into force on Thursday, but Premier Li said Wednesday that the existing rules would continue to apply while the two countries negotiate a long-term agreement.<\/p>\n
In June China\u2019s Foreign Minister Wang Yi berated a Canadian journalist while visiting Ottawa for questioning Beijing\u2019s human rights record, saying her question was \u201cfull of prejudice and arrogance\u201d and that she had \u201cno right to speak\u201d.<\/p>\n
The incident provoked a public outcry and led Canada to lodge a formal complaint with Beijing.<\/p>\n
The 2014 detention on espionage charges of Canadian citizen Kevin Garratt, who had run a Christian-themed coffee shop near the North Korean border, has also raised tensions.<\/p>\n
At the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, Trudeau said he had \u201chighlighted\u201d Garratt\u2019s case in meetings with Chinese leaders but stressed that the goal of the visit was to establish a \u201cstrong, stable relationship and ongoing dialogue\u201d with China.<\/p>\n
Premier Li said judicial authorities would handle Garratt\u2019s case \u201cin strict accordance with the law\u201d and that his right to consular visits would be upheld.<\/p>\n
He added it was essential for the two countries to \u201cremove disturbances\u201d and focus on the \u201coverall interest\u201d of Sino-Canadian relations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Canada will apply to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Ottawa’s finance department said Wednesday, in a coup for Beijing after Washington had tried to dissuade US allies from signing up. “Canada is always looking for ways to create hope and opportunity for our middle class as well as for people around the world,” Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in a statement issued in Beijing. “Membership in the AIIB is an opportunity to do just that.” The Beijing-headquartered multilateral lender, which began operations earlier this year, has been<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2221,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2220"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2222,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220\/revisions\/2222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.banglanewsus.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}