Germany said it will continue supporting a Chinese state-backed development bank despite G7 partner Canada’s decision to freeze ties due to Beijing’s influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After meeting China’s Vice-Premier He Lifeng in Frankfurt on Sunday, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner pledged to support the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank<\/a> (AIIB), the world’s second-largest multilateral development bank, after the World Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The backing comes at a crucial time as Lindner’s Canadian counterpart, Chrystia Freeland,\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0in June that all ties with the bank were to be frozen pending a government review over claims made by a former Canadian top executive at the bank, who reported widespread “communist dominance” within the institution since its foundation in 2016 \u2014 allegations that the\u00a0AIIB denies<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lindner indicated Berlin would “continue strengthening coordination” with Beijing on the AIIB, according to a\u00a0German-Chinese joint statement<\/a>\u00a0released following the Frankfurt meeting. Germany is one of the AIIB’s founding members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Both sides will continue strengthening coordination and comprehensive cooperation under the framework of AIIB, jointly supporting AIIB to operate in a sustainable and robust way along international standards and as an institution that is integrated into the international architecture so as to better serve its members\u2019 needs for sustainable development,” according to the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Frankfurt visit is part of the first Europe tour by He, a long-time confidant of Chinese President Xi Jinping, since he succeeded the influential Liu He as the Chinese leader’s top economic aide in March. It comes amid a deepening economic crisis facing China, most recently seeing the police detention<\/a> of the boss of one of the country’s biggest real estate developers, Evergrande.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “For the first time, we have established a financial roundtable with representatives from important financial institutions and private companies,” Lindner wrote<\/a> on social media. “Both sides are determined to expand market access opportunities and open them up to ensure fair competitive conditions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He’s trip to Germany comes hot on the heels of an EU-China split over electric vehicles, as Brussels looks set to launch an anti-subsidy probe into made-in-China EVs.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEVs in the background<\/h3>\n\n\n\n