Xinhua, Seoul :
South Korea selected national interests by finally deciding to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and go with a global trend, after eight months of deep deliberation.
The country’s finance ministry issued a statement on Thursday night, saying that South Korea decided on it after making discussions on the issue among related ministries, before sending a letter about the decision to China.
South Korea reportedly began to consider seriously whether to join the AIIB after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Seoul in July 2014 to hold summit talks with his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye.
During the summit, Xi expressed his wish for South Korea to participate in the AIIB as one of founding members, and in response, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae unveiled a statement that said both countries shared the need for an expanded infrastructure investment in Asia, and South Korea thought highly of the proposed AIIB and agreed to continue consultations on it.
Four days after the summit, the United States publicly called on South Korea to get cautious about the AIIB issue, discouraging South Korea from signing a memorandum of understanding in Beijing in October 2014 to build the AIIB jointly with 21 countries including China, India and Singapore.
Such atmosphere was reversed after Britain, a traditional U.S. ally, applied for the AIIB membership on March 12. Five days later, major European countries, including France, Germany and Italy, followed suit. Besides China, now 35 countries, including the above mentioned countries as well as Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Luxembourg have jointed or expressed interest in joining in the AIIB.
South Korea reached a final conclusion to join the China- proposed international body as the country thought that the joining will be of its great interests. South Korean Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan told reporters on March 19 that it would decide on whether to join the AIIB after comprehensively reviewing “our national interests.”
“In case that the AIIB is effectively in operation, a large market for infrastructure constructions will be opened in Asia,” said the statement. “By joining the AIIB, our companies will have greater opportunities to participate in the projects as the companies have many experiences in infrastructure projects such as construction, communications and transportation.”
Joining the AIIB will be of great economic benefits to South Korea as its companies and banks will be allowed to participate in large-scale infrastructure development projects in Asia as a founding member of the bank.
“Builders will be allowed to take part in construction projects, and banks to join the funding process as South Korea enters the AIIB. Construction materials exports will rise. Those are all in South Korea’s interests,” Jee Mansoo, research fellow at Korea Institute of Finance (KIF), told Xinhua.
South Korea selected national interests by finally deciding to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and go with a global trend, after eight months of deep deliberation.
The country’s finance ministry issued a statement on Thursday night, saying that South Korea decided on it after making discussions on the issue among related ministries, before sending a letter about the decision to China.
South Korea reportedly began to consider seriously whether to join the AIIB after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Seoul in July 2014 to hold summit talks with his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye.
During the summit, Xi expressed his wish for South Korea to participate in the AIIB as one of founding members, and in response, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae unveiled a statement that said both countries shared the need for an expanded infrastructure investment in Asia, and South Korea thought highly of the proposed AIIB and agreed to continue consultations on it.
Four days after the summit, the United States publicly called on South Korea to get cautious about the AIIB issue, discouraging South Korea from signing a memorandum of understanding in Beijing in October 2014 to build the AIIB jointly with 21 countries including China, India and Singapore.
Such atmosphere was reversed after Britain, a traditional U.S. ally, applied for the AIIB membership on March 12. Five days later, major European countries, including France, Germany and Italy, followed suit. Besides China, now 35 countries, including the above mentioned countries as well as Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Luxembourg have jointed or expressed interest in joining in the AIIB.
South Korea reached a final conclusion to join the China- proposed international body as the country thought that the joining will be of its great interests. South Korean Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan told reporters on March 19 that it would decide on whether to join the AIIB after comprehensively reviewing “our national interests.”
“In case that the AIIB is effectively in operation, a large market for infrastructure constructions will be opened in Asia,” said the statement. “By joining the AIIB, our companies will have greater opportunities to participate in the projects as the companies have many experiences in infrastructure projects such as construction, communications and transportation.”
Joining the AIIB will be of great economic benefits to South Korea as its companies and banks will be allowed to participate in large-scale infrastructure development projects in Asia as a founding member of the bank.
“Builders will be allowed to take part in construction projects, and banks to join the funding process as South Korea enters the AIIB. Construction materials exports will rise. Those are all in South Korea’s interests,” Jee Mansoo, research fellow at Korea Institute of Finance (KIF), told Xinhua.
