[News Terms] Canada’s Withdrawal Process from the 'Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank'

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution established to support the development of social overhead capital in Asian countries. It was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2013, with 21 countries participating in October 2014, and officially launched in Beijing, China, in January 2016.

China led the establishment of the AIIB, criticizing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) for prioritizing the interests of the United States, Europe, and Japan, as well as international financial institutions such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which are also operated under the leadership of developed countries, making it difficult for emerging market countries and late-developing countries to have their demands reflected.

Jin Liqun, the first President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

Since the ambition to reorganize the financial order led by the United States around China and to establish itself as the economic leader of Asia underlies the AIIB, the United States and Japan did not join. Currently, there are 106 member countries, and the capital is 100 billion dollars. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, South Korea ranks fifth with a 3.81% share, following China (30.34%), India (8.52%), Russia (6.66%), and Germany (4.57%). South Korea has the second-largest number of AIIB staff after China.

The president of the AIIB is Jin Liqun (金立群), who has served as Vice Minister of China's Ministry of Finance, Vice President of the ADB, Alternate Executive Director of the WB, and Chairman of China International Capital Corporation. He was elected as the inaugural president in 2016 and was reappointed in 2020, with his term set to continue until January 2026.

On the 14th (local time), Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stated, "The Canadian government is investigating allegations that the Chinese Communist Party controls the AIIB," and added, "Canada will immediately cease government-led activities related to the AIIB," indicating steps toward withdrawal.

Bob Pickard, a Canadian and AIIB Global Communications Director, criticized that "the AIIB is controlled by the Communist Party" in a statement on the same day and resigned after 15 months in office.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.