According to Reuters, "Germany, France and Italy said on Tuesday they would join a new China-led Asian investment bank after close ally Britain defied U.S. pressure to become a founder member of a venture seen in Washington as a rival to the World Bank. The concerted move to participate in Beijing's flagship economic outreach project was a diplomatic blow to the United States, reflecting European eagerness to partner with China's fast-growing economy, the world's second largest. It comes amid prickly trade negotiations between Brussels and Washington, and at a time when EU and Asian governments are frustrated that the U.S. Congress has held up a reform of voting rights in the International Monetary Fund due to give China and other emerging powers more say in global economic governance."
The New York Times reports, "In a challenge to the American-led world financial order, some of the United States' crucial European allies said on Tuesday that they would join a new development bank for Asia that is largely funded by China and that Washington views as a rival to the World Bank. The French, German and Italian governments, in a joint statement, announced 'their intention to become prospective founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank,' known as the A.I.I.B...The three governments said that the bank, working with existing institutions, 'could play an important role to provide funds for addressing the large infrastructure needs in Asia,' and that it would 'promote economic and social development in the region and contribute to global growth.' The bank was initially proposed by President Xi Jinping of China with a mission of helping to fund infrastructure projects in poor Asian countries, something the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank already do."
"China attaches 'great importance' to relations with the U.S. and wants to see enhanced cooperation to better manage 'differences,' President Xi Jinping told former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. 'We hope that in this new year the relationships between the two countries will have fruitful development,' Xi said, according a transcript of his remarks after meeting Kissinger in Beijing. 'We need to enhance cooperation, to properly manage the differences, maintain timely communication on international issues,'" writes Bloomberg.
An opinion article from Foreign Policy writes, "Earlier this month, at the opening of the National People's Congress, Premier Li Keqiang reiterated the main points of the plan his government introduced last year and set economic targets for the future... Li's speech was remarkable, if for nothing else, for its frank and straightforward portrayal of China's economic situation. Lower demand from overseas consumers has depressed domestic investment. Higher costs and lower prices have eroded growth in manufacturing. A path to entrepreneurship can help solve the employment gap for new graduates. [Li] suggested that China should maintain a growth rate similar to its current target of 7 percent for many years to come, raising incomes all the while, [however] maintaining such a high growth rate while boosting incomes is virtually impossible unless an economy is constantly transforming itself to become more entrepreneurial and competitive. Otherwise, as incomes rise, the rate of growth will almost certainly fall."