EXTRAORDINARY FIRST TWO YEARS
Tuesday marks the second anniversary of the AIIB. Two years on, the organization has impressed the world with a long list of achievements, as its
members increased from 57 to 84, and its projects scattered in 12 countries,
involving over 20 billion U.S. dollars from both the public and private sector.
Moreover, the AIIB has received top credit ratings from three major international rating agencies, Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch, in
what analysts have called a ""miracle.""
""I told my colleagues that the AAA credit ratings are not like a doctorate degree that is permanent. If we don't do our job well, the AAAs could be taken
away anytime,"" Jin told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview
The 68-year-old man said the AIIB had realized some goals previously set and made some unexpected progress.
""The international community is increasingly confident in the AIIB,"" he said. ""China, as the initiator of the organization, kept its promises that the
AIIB will abide firmly by international rules, and will not be subject to any
political interference.""
Jin thanked other MDBs such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for their support before and after the AIIB was founded.
Fourteen projects out of AIIB's total 24 projects were co-financed with the World Bank and the ADB.
""The AIIB is a great partner to work with, and is an important contributor to ending extreme poverty and supporting sustainable development by means of its
mandate to finance sustainable infrastructure."" Bert Hofman, World Bank
director for China, Korea and Mongolia, told Xinhua.
Ben Bingham, country director of ADB PRC resident mission, said, ""We look forward to strengthening our cooperation even further for the benefit of the
Asia Pacific region.""
""AIIB has never been, and will not be, a rival to other MDBs, rather, we would like to further cooperate with them."" Jin said.
ZERO TOLERANCE ON CORRUPTION
Calling the AIIB a ""start-up,"" Jin said that ""to work out a series of mechanisms that really works is one of the priorities.""
He said the bank had learned a lot from other MDBs. ""But we are not going to clone the World Bank or replicate the ADB, which were founded decades ago."" he
said, adding that the AIIB had worked out a mechanism with its own
characteristics.
The AIIB slogan, ""Lean, Clean, Green"" is the foundation of its organization.
""No tolerance will be shown on corruption,"" Jin said, noting that the AIIB had very strict anti-corruption rules in terms of recruitment and promotion.
""The reason that we established such a strict anti-corruption mechanism is to let every employee work whole-heartedly to serve our member countries without
doing anything to harm the reputation of AIIB,"" Jin said.
U.S., JAPAN ARE WELCOME FOR COOPERATION
When talking about if the United States and Japan would join the AIIB, Jin said that the doors were always open no matter if they joined or not.
""We have sent out invitation with sincerity, but it ultimately depends on themselves to consider their entries, and we will not intervene,"" Jin said.
Jin said that even if the two countries currently did not join the AIIB, their enterprises were welcome to invest in AIIB projects.
The AIIB has already conducted cooperation with the United States and Japan, including hiring U.S. rating agencies and U.S. and Japanese employees.
""We are confident of tackling any challenges, and I believe the AIIB will make greater achievements,"" Jin said.
" " U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg (not seen) at the White House in
Washington D.C., the United States, on Jan. 10, 2018. U.S. President Donald
Trump said Wednesday that Washington could "conceivably" re-enter into the
global Paris climate agreement, from which he announced the withdrawal last
year. (XinhuaTing Shen)
By Bruce Westbrook
HOUSTON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- President Donald Trump's move forthe largest expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S.continental waters in decades
is met with resistance by coastalstates officials and a mix of skepticism and
hope by energyindustry analysts.
The proposal, announced earlier this month, would open nearlyall U.S. coastal waters from the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans toenergy development. For several
decades, such waters have hadfederal protections due to environmental concerns.
The Trump administration asserted that such renewed offshoredrilling will help achieve ""energy independence.""
But some said that's unlikely even if renewed offshore drillingtranspires, given the facts that oil is less than 70 U.S. dollarsper barrel and shale oil
reserves are abundant.
KEY TO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE?
Trump's offshore drilling plan would open up 90 percent of U.S.offshore reserves to development by private companies, with 47drilling leases proposed.
Among them, 19 sales would be off theAlaska coast, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico,
nine in the Atlantic andseven in the Pacific, all but one of them off
California'scoast.
Sean Hennigan, managing director of Houston-based HerculesOffshore West Africa, which provides drilling services to oil andgas producers, saw the
proposal as a positive step for energyindependence, ""which is a long-term
game.""
Since the lead time for offshore drilling ""is significant, therewill be no immediate impact"" from Trump's proposal, he said. ""Butwe're going to need oil
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