Xi Jinping has a dream — an “Asia-Pacific dream” that offers an alternative to the pull of US President Barack Obama’s “pivot”. And at its heart is regional infrastructure. At November’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the Chinese president pressed on with new trade agreements, signed a gas deal with Russia and announced a $40bn “Silk Road fund”.
Mr Xi is right: infrastructure should be one of the region’s highest priorities. The Asian Development Bank, a lender Beijing sees as overly dominated by the US and Japan, estimates that the region needs more than $8tn in infrastructure in the next six years alone. The ADB cannot meet this demand, and nor can the financially strained Bretton Woods institutions — the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, promising oodles of cash with no strings attached, is alluring.
The AIIB was launched in October, with 21 founding members. Notably absent were the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia. This creates the impression that two camps are forming, with these four nations firmly opposed to an emerging Sino-centric order.