China’s Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao says Taiwan is “very likely” to be able to become a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
The AIIB is a Chinese-led multilateral fund that has attracted more than 40 countries to apply to become founding members. It has been seen as a counterweight to the Washington-based World Bank. Taiwan’s application to become a founding member of the AIIB was rejected earlier this week.
When talking to the Taiwanese media in Washington DC on Friday, the Chinese vice finance minister said although Taiwan was not able to join the AIIB as a founding member, he said it is very likely for Taiwan to become a regular member. He also said that as far as he knows, Taiwan and China are communicating with each other on the issue of Taiwan’s designation in the AIIB.
China sees Taiwan as part of its territory, even though the two sides have been ruled separately for more than 60 years. Beijing is opposed to Taiwan’s participation as a sovereign nation in international organizations. In many international bodies, Taiwan uses the designation “Chinese Taipei” because of China’s objection to the use of “Taiwan”. The Taiwanese government has said that the designation “Chinese Taipei” is its bottom line.