The incoming head of the new China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has vowed to run a “clean, lean and green” institution operating to the highest international standards but with greater speed than its rivals.
中国主导的亚洲基础设施投资银行(AIIB,简称亚投行)侯任行长金立群承诺打造一个“精干、廉洁、绿色”的机构,将按照最高的国际标准运营,并力争比其他同类机构更高效。
Jin Liqun, the president-designate of the AIIB, said it would abide by the toughest environmental and social standards in its lending and model itself in many ways on existing multilateral development banks.
金立群表示,亚投行在发放贷款方面将遵守最严格的环境和社会标准,同时在许多方面都将仿照现有的多边开发银行。
But in an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Jin, a high-ranking former Chinese official, said it would make decisions much faster than established lenders. The bank plans to unveil its first “batch” of projects in the second quarter of 2016.
但这位前中国高级官员在接受英国《金融时报》采访时表示,亚投行的决策速度将明显快于现有的发展银行。亚投行计划在2016年第二季度公布其“首批”项目。
Mr Jin dismissed concerns — widely held in Washington and Tokyo — that the bank will be another instrument of Chinese power. “This is not a Chinese bank. This is a bank owned by all 57 countries [who have joined as founding shareholders]. And in the future there will be more members, right?” he said.
金立群反驳了在华盛顿和东京普遍存在的担忧,即亚投行将成为中国增强影响力的又一个工具。他说:“这不是一家中国银行。这是由57个(作为创始股东加入的)国家共同拥有的银行。而且未来还会有更多的成员国,不是吗?”
The US and Japan were welcome to join the AIIB as shareholders, Mr Jin said, adding: “We are very inclusive.” But if they did, the bank would have to expand its $100bn capital base to accommodate them, he added, because the other 57 members had taken up almost all its shares.
金立群表示,欢迎美国和日本作为股东加入亚投行。他补充称:“我们是非常包容的。”但如果要接纳美国和日本,亚投行将需要扩大目前为1000亿美元的资本基础,因为57个成员国已经认缴了几乎所有份额。
That would put the US and Japan in the awkward position of boosting the firepower of an institution deemed a ploy by China to establish its own rival to the World Bank and other US and European-led multilateral institutions.
美国和日本认为中国发起设立亚投行是为了挑战世界银行(World Bank)和其他由美国和欧洲主导的多边机构,如果两国加入,将把自身置于增强该机构火力的尴尬位置。
The AIIB is not expected formally to come into existence until the end of this year. Its members are still ratifying its articles of agreement. They are also thrashing out things like its social and environmental standards while an interim secretariat is recruiting staff.
预计亚投行将于今年底正式成立。目前各成员国仍在审核协议条款,研究讨论社会及环境标准等事项,同时一个临时秘书处正在招募员工。
But the bank is already preparing its first loans, which will include projects co-financed with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, a move intended in part to soften the image of the AIIB and emphasise its willingness to work with existing institutions.
但亚投行已在筹备首批贷款项目,其中将包括与世界银行和亚洲开发银行(Asian Development Bank)合作提供融资的项目,此举在一定程度上是为了缓和亚投行的形象,并突出其与现有机构合作的意愿。
Mr Jin declined to say which countries or sectors the AIIB would initially target but said the first projects would “meet the urgent needs of Asian countries”.
金立群拒绝透露亚投行最初会以哪些国家或者行业为支持目标,但表示首批项目将“满足亚洲国家的迫切需求”。
He played down the influence that European shareholders such as the UK had exerted on the AIIB since joining this year despite US objections. Although Britain and others claimed at the time that they would help shape the AIIB at its founding, Mr Jin said they had joined too late to do much more than tweak drafts of its articles of agreement that had already been agreed.
他淡化英国等欧洲股东不顾美国反对于今年早些时候申请加入亚投行后所带来的影响。尽管英国和其他国家当时宣称,它们将有助于在创立之初塑造亚投行,但金立群表示,它们加入过晚,对已达成的协议条款的草案不过是略有调整。
Mr Jin said that, following the example of other development banks, the new lender would recruit its staff internationally, including from non-members such as the US. They would be offered the same sort of tax-free income that the World Bank pays its staff.
金立群表示,亚投行将效仿其他发展银行,在国际上招募员工,包括来自美国等非成员国的人才。他们的收入将享受与世界银行员工一样的免税待遇。
The AIIB also would set up a research arm, albeit one that was likely to be more focused on sectoral issues than on the sort of macro research done by the World Bank and others.
亚投行还将设立一个研究机构,不过这个机构可能偏向于研究行业问题,而非世界银行等机构所开展的那种宏观研究。
However, Mr Jin also made clear that he intended to avoid some of the pitfalls of other development banks and would adopt much more rapid lending procedures, aided by the decision not to have an intrusive resident board micro the bank’s activities. “No private sector companies have a resident board,” he said.
然而,金立群也明确表示,他决定避免其他发展银行的一些弊端,将采用更为快捷的放贷流程,并决定不设立干扰性的常驻理事会对亚投行的活动进行微观管理。他说:“没有一家私营公司设立常驻董事会。”
All of the AIIB’s loans in 2016 and many of its initial projects would be approved by the non-resident board. The board would also set broad lending policies for the AIIB.
亚投行在2016年的所有贷款以及许多初始项目将需要获得非常驻理事会的批准。该理事会还将为亚投行制定全面的放贷政策。
But Mr Jin said that, eventually, the vast bulk of its loans would be made at the discretion of management, giving him potentially huge powers to sign off on projects.
但金立群表示,最终而言,大部分贷款将由管理层决定。这意味着他很可能在批准项目上拥有很大权力。
“The first project of any country, the first project of any sector or projects over a certain limit will be approved by the board. Otherwise the approval authority will be delegated by the board to the management,” he said.
他说:“对任何国家的首个项目、对任何行业的首个项目或者附带限制条件的项目都需经过理事会批准。其他审批权限将由理事会下放给管理层。”