France, Germany, Italy follow Britain to join China-led bank

After Britain became the first G7 major countries to join a China-led international development bank despite the United States` opposition, France, Germany and Italy have all agreed to follow suit, the British daily Financial Times reported Monday (local time).

Australia, which had been under pressure from Washington to stay out of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), also plans to reconsider that position, according to the newspaper. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said that the more countries become interested in the AIIB, the easier it would be for his country to make a decision on joining the bank.

As the U.S. is becoming increasingly isolated, some U.S. experts argue that Washington should join the bank. Elizabeth Economy, director for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. independent policy think tank, that her country should join the bank and serve as "a positive force for best governance practices and an internal critic if things go awry."

France, Germany and Italy had been positive toward joining the AIIB since last year but balking at making a final decision because of U.S. opposition and Britain`s attitude that seemed to support Washington. London`s announcement of its decision to join the AIIB last week seemed to have prompted Paris, Berlin and Rome to hurriedly follow suit. Now, the four Western European countries and the U.S. are divided over the AIIB issue.

Meanwhile, Japan decided not to join the AIIB because of questions over the bank`s ability to conduct loan reviews, concerns over fair operation and possible collision with existing international financial institutions such as the Asia Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, according to the Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun on Tuesday. The British daily also reported that Japan would not join the bank as Tokyo is the largest contributor to the ADB and fears the most Beijing`s increased influence in Asia.

However, Takehiko Nakao, president of the ADB and a Japanese national, told the Nihon Keizai Shimbun that ADB alone cannot meet the demand for infrastructure development funds in Asia. He added that he does not consider the AIIB as a competitor, suggesting that the two banks can become partners.

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