China says Taiwan not welcome in new infrastructure bank

BEIJING — China today (March 31) said that it is not interested in having Taiwan as a founding member of its new Asia-oriented infrastructure bank.

“We want to avoid (creating the perception) of two Chinas, or one China, one Taiwan,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said during a regular press briefing.

With the deadline to join looming, Taipei announced earlier today that it would apply for membership in the bank’s founding class.

The decision comes on the heels of a rush of last-minute applications by several European countries, as well as Australia, to join the organisation, conceived by China as a vehicle for increasing investment in the region.

The United States has strongly discouraged participation in the bank, citing concerns about transparency in lending.

China regards Taiwan as a renegade province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, and has consistently discouraged international organisations from accepting the neighbouring democracy as a member.

Taiwan and China have been governed separately since they split amid a civil war in 1949, and the two countries have no formal diplomatic relations.

Currently, Taiwan is only recognised by a handful of countries around the world, mostly small nations in Central America and the South Pacific. KYODO NEWS