Photo: AFP/Xinhua/Ren Chao
Dániel Kovács
16/10/2023 10:15
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was established on 29 June 2015 at the initiative of China. At the time, it had the 'modest' objective of providing funds to meet the huge investment needs of the Asia-Pacific region, which amount to some 1,000 billion dollars a year. China contributed half of the 100 billion dollars in core capital, 50 billion, with India, the second largest, providing only eight per cent.
The initiative has been criticised, and not without reason, particularly from the United States, and has even been seen as an open attack. The emergence of the AIIB meant the end of the dominance of the US-dominated financial institutions, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. At the same time, the initial rapid successes quickly silenced critics, with over two billion dollars worth of projects approved in the first year.
The number of countries joining the Bank has expanded rapidly, with 12 countries, including Belgium, Ireland and Hungary. With this and the transfer of the first tranche of capital, Hungary became the second country from Central and Eastern Europe to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Hungary has achieved a significant ownership stake in the institution, it can participate on the Board of Directors in shaping the bank's strategy and objectives, and can strengthen its international financial and foreign economic relations in the dynamically developing region of the world. The AIIB has rapidly become one of the world's leading multilateral development banks.
Another major flagship of China's foreign engagement is the Silk Road Fund, which aims to promote the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects initiated by the Asian country. The Silk Road Fund was established in 2014 and has since supported China's largest 21st century initiative, financing infrastructure projects, providing access to energy resources and strengthening economic and trade links between participating countries. The fund contributes to building inter-regional connectivity, sustainable economic development and more equitable access to global markets, and is actively involved in a number of infrastructure projects. The fund has an initial capital of forty billion dollars and is directly managed by the People's Bank of China and state-owned asset management institutions. It now has a worldwide presence, contributing to the development of international economic cooperation and global trade.
The author is an economic journalist