Bank dispute fuels US-China rivalry

The Anglo-American dispute over membership of a new Beijing-led development bank is one of the early chapters in the growing competition between the US and China over who will write the rules for the 21st century global economy.

The Obama administration reacted angrily to the British decision on Thursday to become a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a $50bn Chinese initiative that could end up rivalling the Washington-based World Bank.

Britain will become the first G7 economy to join the AIIB, giving the China-led bank an important boost of credibility and potentially funds at a time when it has been struggling to establish itself.

The new Asian bank is one part of an ambitious Chinese push to create a new generation of financial and economic institutions that could give it greater political influence in the Asia-Pacific region and potentially in other parts of the world.

Read the full article at Financial Times.