President Xi Jinping is set to address a key meeting of the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank on Tuesday at which analysts said he may
unveil more policies to support the bank as it helps fund regional and
global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Xi will speak in Beijing at the opening ceremony of the fifth annual
meeting of the Board of Governors of the AIIB, to be held via video
link. A key message Xi may deliver, analysts said, is that China, as the
world's first major economy that has shown a robust recovery from the
downturn caused by COVID-19, will assume more responsibility in fueling
regional and global economic recovery. "The AIIB has become an important strength in promoting regional
economic recovery, and China's offering of more support policies to the
bank will bolster the momentum in this regard," said Xu Xiujun, a
researcher of international political economy at the Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences and the author of a book about the AIIB. The AIIB has doubled available funds under its COVID-19 crisis
recovery facility to provide up to $10 billion in financing to help
mitigate adverse impacts for its member economies. So far the bank has
approved loans earmarked for coronavirus response in close to a dozen
Asian countries, including India, Pakistan, Vietnam, the Philippines,
Mongolia and Indonesia. Xu said the establishment of the crisis recovery facility reflects
the development-oriented nature of the AIIB, which, with its efficient
operation mechanism and simplified approval procedures, can respond
quickly to funding demands from different countries. Another important part of Xi's speech, Xu said, is likely to be
sharing China's experience in epidemic containment and sharing China's
growth opportunities with the world. The AIIB said in a statement that the virtual meeting, to be held on
Tuesday and Wednesday, will be the first in the format for AIIB and was
designed to respond to the pandemic and the need for continued dialogue
with stakeholders. Wei Jianguo, vice-chairman of the China Center for International
Economic Exchanges and former vice-minister of commerce, said Xi's
participation at the opening ceremony shows the leadership's recognition
of AIIB's achievements over five years. "As a multilateral development institution, the AIIB is leading the
reform of the global governance system, and developing countries are
playing more significant roles in the institution to promote
international coordination in the fields of infrastructure construction
and green and digital economic development," he said. Liu Ying, a senior researcher at Renmin University of China's
Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, said the AIIB will better
provide financial support to narrow the huge financing gap for
infrastructure construction in Asia, Europe and Africa. Through promoting infrastructure cooperation and construction based
on the multilateral network, it will strengthen the world's economic
growth, especially in the post-pandemic era, Liu said.
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