The Australian government is lobbying hard for the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to include coal among its lending priorities, as the country seeks to defend its lucrative exports.
The AIIB, billed by some as Beijing’s answer to the World Bank, launched last year with a promise to be a “green bank” with an emphasis on renewable power. But with a draft energy strategy due to be published this month, it has not ruled out funding coal projects.
With 57 members including Germany, France and the UK joining the lender despite initial warnings from the US not to do so, the AIIB marks China’s most ambitious foray into financial diplomacy yet. Its capital is about half that of the US-led World Bank.