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How China successfully redrew the global financial map with AIIB

Beijing was plagued by doubts that other nations would back idea when it first considered setting up the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in early 2013, sources say

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President Xi Jinping (centre) with other leaders at the launch ceremony of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank last October in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Plans for China’s new development bank – one of Beijing’s biggest global policy successes – were almost shelved two years ago due to doubts among senior Chinese policymakers.

From worries that it would not raise enough funds to concerns other nations would not support it, Beijing was plagued by self-doubt when it first considered setting up the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in early 2013, two sources with knowledge of internal discussions said.

However, promises by some Middle East governments to stump up cash and the support of key European nations – to Beijing’s surprise and despite US opposition – proved a turning point in China’s plans to alter the global financial architecture.

READ MORE: China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank echoes the world's desire for a new order

The overseas affirmation, combined with the endorsement of stalwart supporters, including a former Chinese vice-premier and incoming AIIB president Jin Liqun – a former head of the sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp – enabled China to bring the bank from an idea to its imminent inception.

The bank’s successful establishment is likely to bolster Beijing’s confidence that it can play a leading role in supranational financial institutions, despite the economic headwinds it is facing at home.

READ MORE: World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim says lender 'ready to work' with AIIB

“At the start, China wasn’t very confident,” one of the sources said in reference to Beijing’s AIIB plans.

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