ADB sees potential for cooperation with China on ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) sees potential for cooperating with China in its “One Belt, One Road” initiative to bolster regional infrastructure links, and welcomed new institutions that wanted to support development projects.

Funding and expertise were always needed, which is why the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank should (AIIB) not be seen as unwanted competition to existing agencies, so long as it met environmental and social impact standards, said Stephen Groff, vice-president of the ADB.

“Our perspective on the ‘One Belt, One Road’ is that, certainly, regional cooperation is critical, and connectivity is critical,” Groff told the South China Morning Post on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia in the southern province of Hainan.

The ADB, led by Japan, was already working on strengthening regional cooperation through existing initiatives that included the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), and programmes focused on Central Asia and the Greater Mekong subregion.

The “One Belt, One Road” initiative includes the Silk Road Economic Belt which links the nation with Central Asia, Russia and the Baltic states over land, and building water routes with nations in Southeast Asia and around the Indian Ocean.

Beijing had not yet laid down the details of its vision, Groff said, so it was premature to discuss how the programme could intersect with the ADB’s existing projects. “[However] it’s an open initiative that welcomes all players. We look forward to cooperation and coordination with China.”

Groff said the ADB had begun carrying out reforms and intended to increase its lending to US$18 billion in 2017-18, up from the current US$13 billion. But he said an estimated US$8 trillion was needed to fund infrastructure development across the region in the decade up to 2020.