Australia confirms it will join up to China-led infrastructure bank
THE AUSTRALIAN government confirmed over the weekend that it will join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
However, Canberra made it clear that it still had concerns about the structure of the organisation. China launched the $100bn (£67bn) proposal last year and more than 20 countries have announced their intention to be founding members.
The US has urged its allies, such as Britain, to shun the AIIB, which it sees as a rival to the World Bank.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, the foreign minister, Julie Bishop, and the treasurer, Joe Hockey, said: “Good progress has been made on the bank’s design, governance and transparency over the past few months, but we still have issues that we will address through ongoing consultations.
“Key matters to be resolved before Australia considers joining the AIIB [such as that] no one country control the bank.”