(Opinion) America Needs More Domestic Consensus on Issues in the International System
2015-04-01 09:35:00 source：China US Focus
By Wang Wenfeng
March 31, 2015
"As the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) attracts more and more countries - many of which representing America's strongest allies in Europe like Britain, France and Germany - people have begun blaming the U.S. for a reality it doesn't want to see. For many years, the U.S. has been blocking the reform of international financial institutions, most importantly among them, the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Its quota allocation still doesn't reflect the changes in world economic development. To a certain degree, that is why China initiated the establishment of the AIIB. As a matter of fact, G20 countries have long reached an agreement on a reform plan of the IMF that allows countries like China to have an increased quota so that they can have a greater say in the organization's decision making. The Obama administration has repeatedly asked Congress to ratify the reform package, but obviously, the U.S. Congress does not have the interest in doing so, eliciting fierce criticism both home and abroad. Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF, said last October that she hoped the U.S. Congress, "will understand the relevance of having an IMF that is representative of the global economy and includes the people that should sit at the table." Earlier this month, people heard Jacob Lew, US Secretary of Treasury, complain to Congress that "we are seeking Congressional approval of the IMF quota and governance reforms," and as Congress keeps delaying, "our international credibility and influence are being threatened."
For years, the Obama administration has emphasized the importance of competing with rising powers like China over international systems and institutions. They correctly see the megatrend of international relations and the character of major power relations. Soft power, such as the ability to make and control rules that members of international community follow, is becoming more and more critical in world politics. That's why the U.S., for the past several years, has been pushing hard the building of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Asia as an integral part of its "rebalancing toward Asia" strategy, and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) in Europe, while at the same time trying to get involved in all kinds of regional mechanisms in the Asia-Pacific. America wants to be sure that it is not excluded from the region and that a change of regional order does not hurt America’s position as a regional leader."
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