Beijing gave up veto power at infrastructure bank to woo US allies

Chinese negotiators told potential European members of its new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank that China would forgo veto power during the past few weeks to convince countries including France, the UK, Italy and Germany break ranks with Washington, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials involved in negotiations to set up the bank. In proposing that no one country dictate decision-making at the new bank, Beijing is making a sharp departure from the practice common to US-backed international lenders like the International Monetary Fund. But Beijing is still likely to have the upper hand on major decisions even without veto power, the officials said.