The “snowball effect” that Australian foreign policy and development experts predicted would happen as a result of the United Kingdom’s decision to sign on as founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank may have already kicked in.
Shortly after Britain’s surprise announcement, Italy, France and Germany have reportedly agreed to join the $100 billion infrastructure bank proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 to bridge the infrastructure and general development financing gap in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the Financial Times.
The United States is believed to have lobbied hard to keep its allies from joining the China-led infrastructure bank, and this decision from four influential European nations may eliminate any concerns other holdouts may have from supporting the bank.
About the authors
Lean Alfred Santos@DevexLeanAS
Lean Alfred Santos is a former Devex development reporter focusing on the development community in Asia-Pacific, including major players such as the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. He previously covered Philippine and international business and economic news, sports and politics.
Jeff Tyson@jtyson21
Jeff is a former global development reporter for Devex. Based in Washington, D.C., he covers multilateral affairs, U.S. aid, and international development trends. He has worked with human rights organizations in both Senegal and the U.S., and prior to joining Devex worked as a production assistant at National Public Radio. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in international relations and French from the University of Rochester.
