Politically motivated claim to discredit AIIB

The headquarters of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing. [Photo by Chen Xiaogen/China Daily]

This is an editorial from China Daily.

Canada officially joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in 2018 despite Washington's objections, because it saw opportunities in its own interests.

"Canada's membership will create commercial opportunities for Canadian companies and create jobs for the middle class," said then Canadian finance minister Bill Morneau. "Canada is always looking for ways to create hope and opportunity for people around the world, and membership in the AIIB is an opportunity to do just that."

Relations between the two countries were better back then. But in the past few years politicization has to a great extent taken hold of bilateral ties.

Anti-Beijing sentiment seems to have taken on a life of its own in the West. To such an extent that a Canadian citizen resigned as the global communications director of the AIIB this week alleging it is "dominated by the Communist Party of China".

That is clearly a loaded statement.

It is true China is the largest shareholder with 26.6 percent of the voting rights. But the bank's board of directors, which is responsible for the direction of the bank's general operations, including approving the bank's strategy and establishing policies, comprises representatives from 11 other countries as well as the representative from China.

In a Wednesday statement on the matter, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is also the Canadian representative in the bank's board of governors, said Canada would "immediately" halt all official activity at the AIIB as her ministry carries out an "immediate" review of the allegation and of Canada's involvement with the AIIB.

Inadvertently or not, she highlighted the politicized motivation for the resignee's claim.

"The Government of Canada will also discuss this matter with our allies and partners who are members of the Bank," she said. Her remark that "...I am not ruling out any outcome following its completion" has sparked speculation about a possible Canadian withdrawal from the AIIB and a possible domino effect among the other allies of the United States.

If that happens, it will be a heavy blow not only to the multilateral banking institution, which is dedicated to Asian economic progress, but to the already frosty relationship between Beijing and Ottawa.

As the AIIB pointed out in a statement, the bank is a diverse international team representing 65 different nationalities serving 106 members worldwide. The globalized personnel structure alone makes it impossible for the CPC to control the bank.

But although the allegation is "baseless", as the bank said in its statement, this is unlikely to prevent the attack on the bank's integrity from intensifying amid the recent Western frenzy about "dependency on China" and concerns about its influence among developing countries.