Euro-vassalos desafiam domínio dos EUA, aí aderem a rival banco chinês de investimento regional.
(Reuters) - Germany, France and Italy said on Tuesday they had agreed to join a new China-led Asian investment bank after close ally Britain defied U.S. pressure to become a founder member of a venture seen in Washington as a rival to the World Bank. The concerted move to participate in Beijing's flagship economic outreach project was a diplomatic blow for the United States, reflecting European eagerness to partner with China's fast-growing economy, the second largest in the world. It comes amid prickly trade negotiations between Brussels and Washington, and at a time when EU and Asian governments are frustrated that the U.S. Congress has held up a reform of voting rights in the International Monetary Fund due to give China and other emerging economies more say in global economic governance. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Europe's biggest economy, a major trade partner with Beijing, would be a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. A French Finance Ministry official told Reuters that Paris "confirms France's participation and highlights agreement between Germany, France and Italy" on the matter, first reported by the Financial Times.
The Italian Treasury said the Europeans had agreed to work to ensure the new institution "follows the best standards and practices in terms of governance, safeguards, debt and procurement policies". French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters: "We are indeed considering this idea positively. We are looking at the precise modalities internally in France, then we'll have the opportunity to discuss it with other European countries. "You have seen that the British have already joined. We have been working on this prospect for quite some time," he added. The AIIB was launched in Beijing last year to spur investment in Asia in transportation, energy, telecommunications and other infrastructure. It was seen as a rival to the Western-dominated World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Washington has questioned whether it will have high standards of governance and environmental and social safeguards. It is seen as a key vector to spread Chinese "soft power" in the region, possibly at the expense of the United States. The World Bank is traditionally run by a U.S. nominee and Washington also has the most influence at the IMF. China said earlier this year a total of 26 countries had been included as AIIB founder members, mostly from Asia and the Middle East. It plans to finalise the articles of agreement by the end of the year.
