China Pivot: UK, Germany, France and other US allies rebuke pressure from Washington and join China-led bank. (how much, assessment)
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A lot of people seem to view this as the world socking it to the US, specifically as a big "f-you" to it and its global hegemony. That's really more just people projecting their personal frustrations at the US onto a complex global economic issue.
how many of the nations that signed on with the AIIB who were members of the IMF and world bank have renounced their membership? Zero. That would be a big middle finger to the US, but that isn't happening any time soon. The nations that are members have billions tied up and benefit from their membership; if they didn't, they'd walk.
This is more a situation where, say, a business owner has been dealing with a bank for years and benefitted from it, but then another bank opens up and offers good perks for joining, so they take some of the money they make from their business and put it in the new bank while leaving the money they had in their old bank there all the same.
The NDB/AIIB are great opportunities for nations who were not allowed into the WB/IMF. The US and post-colonial powers who make up these entities operated in a very predatory way towards developing nations, as I mentioned earlier in the thread, packaging investment with self-serving political and economic requirements. "Sure, we will invest in your country, but you won't be abke to trade with this country, have to sever political ties with this one, and offer exclusive trade rights to our corporations." That sucks. you also have more than a few examples of the US and UK turning its back, or turning on, former allies or partners as the wind blows, iraq being a great example.
The thing that the US needs to take heed of in this is matter is that it is no longer the only option. The UK and France lost their global hegemony and are simply looking out for their own best interest and diversifying their investments, as they have done for some time now. The US' current economic policies are a total mess and a model of cronyist inefficiency. People in the US Itself are increasingly sick of its shift towards a bureaucratic oligarchy and other nations are increasingly wary of going down the same road.
A lot of people seem to view this as the world socking it to the US, specifically as a big "f-you" to it and its global hegemony. That's really more just people projecting their personal frustrations at the US onto a complex global economic issue.
how many of the nations that signed on with the AIIB who were members of the IMF and world bank have renounced their membership? Zero. That would be a big middle finger to the US, but that isn't happening any time soon. The nations that are members have billions tied up and benefit from their membership; if they didn't, they'd walk.
This is more a situation where, say, a business owner has been dealing with a bank for years and benefitted from it, but then another bank opens up and offers good perks for joining, so they take some of the money they make from their business and put it in the new bank while leaving the money they had in their old bank there all the same.
The NDB/AIIB are great opportunities for nations who were not allowed into the WB/IMF. The US and post-colonial powers who make up these entities operated in a very predatory way towards developing nations, as I mentioned earlier in the thread, packaging investment with self-serving political and economic requirements. "Sure, we will invest in your country, but you won't be abke to trade with this country, have to sever political ties with this one, and offer exclusive trade rights to our corporations." That sucks. you also have more than a few examples of the US and UK turning its back, or turning on, former allies or partners as the wind blows, iraq being a great example.
The thing that the US needs to take heed of in this is matter is that it is no longer the only option. The UK and France lost their global hegemony and are simply looking out for their own best interest and diversifying their investments, as they have done for some time now. The US' current economic policies are a total mess and a model of cronyist inefficiency. People in the US Itself are increasingly sick of its shift towards a bureaucratic oligarchy and other nations are increasingly wary of going down the same road.
You've neglected the diplomatic angle. The fact that even the closest allies of the U.S. openly and directly rebuffed concerted pressure from the Obama administration not to join.
By refusing to act in lockstep with the de facto mandates of the USA, these nations knew fully well that it would be a very public embarrassment for the US government, with potentially very significant long term geopolitical and diplomatic ramifications, but they went ahead and did so anyway.
You're able to spot a few European countries? And Italy is 12th.
Good point. The UK and France in any case cooperate very closely in military terms. With Germany, Italy and Spain, our military force would be far larger than Russia's. No doubt about it. People only tip toe around Russia because of its large nuclear arsenal. Remove that, and you are left with a country that isn't mightier or much bigger than the European powers.
You've neglected the diplomatic angle. The fact that even the closest allies of the U.S. openly and directly rebuffed concerted pressure from the Obama administration not to join.
By refusing to act in lockstep with the de facto mandates of the USA, these nations knew fully well that it would be a very public embarrassment for the US government, with potentially very significant long term geopolitical and diplomatic ramifications, but they went ahead and did so anyway.
The U.S. Never publicly expressed strong objections to the countries joining aiib. At most some officials only listed some concerns and asked countries to ensure that it will have high standard of transparency and governance.
It was merely the media's portrayal of the U.S. giving order to allies not to join.
While we will never know what exactly happens behind the scene and there maybe embarrassment of the U.S., I don't think it will cause any substantial damage to its relations with the countries that joined aiib. It's not like the U.S. Issued a formal ultimatum requesting all countries not to join or else they face economic sanctions.
The media might have exaggerated things to attract more readers.
After all, it's another economic cooperation which there are plenty out there, some of which US isn't a member of.
The U.S. Never publicly expressed strong objections to the countries joining aiib. At most some officials only listed some concerns and asked countries to ensure that it will have high standard of transparency and governance.
It was merely the media's portrayal of the U.S. giving order to allies not to join.
While we will never know what exactly happens behind the scene and there maybe embarrassment of the U.S., I don't think it will cause any substantial damage to its relations with the countries that joined aiib. It's not like the U.S. Issued a formal ultimatum requesting all countries not to join or else they face economic sanctions.
The media might have exaggerated things to attract more readers.
After all, it's another economic cooperation which there are plenty out there, some of which US isn't a member of.
Of course the US would never openly behave as a hegemon in its official diplomatic statements.
That's why we speak in de facto terms. There's plenty to suggest between the lines of diplomatic protocol (for example, the extensiveness and persistence with which such advisories we're issued) that this was a failed concerted agenda to isolate the embryonic AIIB.
As for long term ramifications, only time will tell how this will influence the balance of geopolitics. To completely rule out potentially serious consequences for either the U.S. or its allies comes across as wishful thinking at this stage, though more likely than not we won't see any seriously adverse outcomes.
Indeed. Washington's allies have behaved is if they had been actively discouraged from something they saw as beneficial to them, whether or not it was through unofficial channels behind the scenes.
It took the UK to break the mould first before everyone else jumped aboard. It does look very much as if Washington was trying to flexing its diplomatic muscle on the matter and ultimately failed.
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