Score one for China! U.S. loses Asia bank tussle

Just a few months ago, Beijing’s plan to build a rival to the World Bank looked like something of a quixotic mission.

就在几个月前，中国政府想要建立一个银行与世界银行相对抗的计划，看起来是不切实际的举措。

With the initial deadline to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) fast approaching, only a few countries had pledged their support. The United States, and its close allies, remained on the sidelines.

随着创始会员国加入亚洲基础建设投资银行(AIIB)的日期临近截止，只有一少部分国家表示支持。美国及其亲密盟友都保持观望态度。

Then earlier this month, the U.K. broke ranks, announcing it would apply for membership in the hope of becoming the first major Western economy to join the China-led financial institution..

本月早些时候，英国首先打破僵局，宣布将提交申请，成为首个有望加入这一中国主导的金融机构的西方主要经济体。

That opened the floodgates. France, Germany and Italy all said they would follow Britain’s lead. So did Switzerland and Austria. South Korea, one of the U.S.’s most trusted allies in Asia, also applied for membership of the AIIB, which will help finance projects in the region.

这为别的国家开了先例，随后法国、德国和意大利纷纷表示要跟随英国加入，瑞士和澳大利亚也紧随其后。就连美国在亚洲最值得信赖的盟友之一韩国，也对亚投行提交了申请，要加入这个对区域金融有重要作用的银行。

China set about building its own development bank because it was frustrated by a relative lack of influence at the World Bank (a U.S.-based institution) and the Asian Development Bank (where Japan is a major force).

由于在美国和日本分别主导的世界银行和亚洲开发银行中缺乏相应的影响力，中国决定着手自己建立开发银行。

Skeptical about how the bank would be run, and seeking to limit its effectiveness, the U.S. quietly encouraged allies not to participate.

由于对亚开行的运作方式存有质疑，并试图限制其影响力，美国私下里鼓动其盟友拒绝加入。

But with Europe’s acquiescence, it appears that Chinese diplomats have secured a major victory. The deadline to apply for status as a founding member is Tuesday.

但欧洲的默许显示出中国的外交取得的重大胜利。周二是申请加入创始会员国的截止日期。

"The Americans would prefer that the U.S.-dominated World Bank retain its monopoly on sovereign-financed low cost development lending," said Carl Weinberg of High Frequency Economics.

“美国希望自己主导的世界银行能够继续保持对金融独立国家低息开发贷款的垄断，”高频经济公司的卡尔?温伯格说道。

"Trade hungry Europeans, however, have looked at the map and realized that the Silk Road is a two-way route that touches key emerging markets in Africa and Asia," he said.

“然而，渴望贸易的欧洲打开地图发现，丝绸之路是打开亚非两大新兴市场的关键通道。”他说。

Still, the AIIB won’t reshape the world economic order overnight. With planned initial capital of $50 billion, it will be around a third of the size of the World Bank.

但是，亚投行不会在短时间内重建世界经济秩序。其启动资金只有500亿美元，规模相当于世界银行的三分之一。

"The AIIB will largely complement existing multilateral financial institutions; Beijing will work to ensure that the bank has high standards for governance and will not use it to pursue narrow diplomatic goals," wrote analysts at Eurasia Group.

“亚投行将在极大程度上补充现有的多边金融机构体系，中国政府将致力于确保该银行高标准运作，不会通过它实现狭隘的政治目标。”欧亚集团分析师写道。

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来源:华尔街日报爱语吧作者:Sunmore