CRI听力:Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to Go into Operation Next Year

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is set to become a reality, now that 21 participating countries have signed off on its creation.

The bank is going to begin with a seed of 100 billion US dollars, half of which China is putting forward.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will operate similar to that of the World Bank.

The United Nations, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and other international finance institutions are supporting the creation of the bank.

However, there are countries in the region which have yet to endorse its creation, including Indonesia and South Korea.

For more on the creation of the new facility, we earlier spoke to Mike Bastin, Director of the China Business Centre at Southampton Solent University.

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1. 21 countries are now involving themselves in this project. What do these countries see in this bank? The experience of China's fast industrialization or possibly China's large foreign exchange reserve?

2. It's quite noteble that Indonesia and South Korea have misgivings in joining this enterprise. What could be their possible concerns and how much of this bank's future success will rely on its inclusiveness?

3. Earlier this year, China has launched a even larger multilateral project, the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road Belt, and these projects certainly will involve a lot of infrastructure building. How soon do you expect this bank to get busy with real work?