What’s new: Brazil became a founding member Tuesday of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the China-led multilateral bank that began operating in 2015 with a mandate to finance development projects around the world.
The AIIB can support projects only in member countries. Brazil's joining means the lender will be able to finance Brazilian projects and Brazil will participate in governance of the bank, the Brazilian Embassy in China said in a social media post.
Brazil signed the agreement to join the AIIB as the only South American founding member in 2015, but it needed to go through a formal process for joining the institution, including making payments for its stake in the AIIB.
The background: Headquartered in Beijing, the AIIB has 103 member countries worldwide and has approved investments in 106 projects totaling nearly $22 billion, according to data on its website.
The AIIB complements China’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), one of the pillars of President Xi Jinping’s geostrategic ambition to catapult China into the position of a world-leading superpower by 2050.
The bank has set aside a total of $13 billion to support member governments during the Covid-19 pandemic, of which more than $6 billion has already been invested.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com).
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