SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea on Thursday became the latest American ally to announce its intention to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank despite Washington’s qualms about the Chinese-led regional development bank.
韩国首尔——尽管华盛顿对由中国牵头的地区性开发银行亚洲基础设施投资银行（Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank，简称亚投行）心存疑虑，但韩国还是在周四成为了最新一个宣布有意加入该行的美国盟友。

The South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in a statement that Asia needed a new regional source of development money like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank because the existing multilateral lenders, like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, could not meet the demand for infrastructure investment funds in the region.
韩国企划财政部(Ministry of Strategy and Finance)发表声明称，亚洲需要一个像亚投行这样的开发资金的新地区性来源，因为现有的世界银行(World Bank)和亚洲开发银行(Asian Development Bank)等多边借贷机构无法满足该地区的基础设施投资的资金需求。
The United States has expressed misgivings about the proposed regional lender, which it sees as a threat to the Washington-led World Bank. American officials have also worried that the new bank would lack governance and transparency in enforcing lending, environmental and labor standards.
美国已经表示了对提议设立该地区性借贷机构的顾虑，并视其威胁到了由华盛顿牵头的世界银行。美国官方还担心，这家新银行可能会在执行借贷、环境和劳工标准方面缺乏监管和透明度。
But in its statement, the South Korean ministry said a founding membership in the regional bank would help expand the country’s influence in the international banking sector. It also said membership would help its companies win deals in large-scale construction, telecommunications, transportation and other development projects in the region.
不过，韩国企划财政部在声明中表示，该地区性银行的创始成员国身份，将有助于扩大本国在国际银行业的影响力。它还称，成员身份将有助于韩国企业在地区的大规模建筑、电信和交通运输等开发项目中赢得合同。
“Our government, together with its allies, has been urging China to improve its plans for the bank so that its governing structure and safeguards will meet international standards,” the ministry said. “We have seen significant progress in that regard.”
“我们的政府，连同盟友，一直在敦促中国改进对该行的规划，使其管理结构和防护措施达到国际标准，”韩国企划财政部说。“在这一方面，我们看到了显著的进步。”
The question of whether to join the bank has presented South Korea with a tricky balancing act between the United States, its most important security ally, and China, its largest trading partner.
是否加入该行的问题，使得韩国要在最重要的安全盟友美国和最大的贸易伙伴中国之间寻求微妙的平衡。
Australia, Japan and South Korea — all important American allies in the Asia-Pacific region — have been notably absent from plans for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
澳大利亚、日本和韩国均是美国在亚太地区的重要盟友。引人注目的是，它们此前都没有参与亚投行的筹划工作。
Australia’s prime minister, Tony Abbott, said Wednesday that he supported the proposed bank as long as it was transparent and not dominated by a single country. Japan said it was reviewing its options.
澳大利亚总理托尼·阿博特(Tony Abbott)在周三表示，他支持设立亚投行的提议，只要它保持透明，不受某一个国家的支配。日本则称，正在评估自己的选择。
In South Korea, support for membership grew after Britain, France, Germany and Italy said they would join the development bank. More than 20 countries have said they will become members.
英国、法国、德国和意大利纷纷表示将加入该开发银行后，韩国国内支持的呼声升高了。已有20多个国家表示将成为亚投行的成员。
China, which has pledged to provide a large share of the bank’s initial capital, proposed the bank in part to increase its influence in global finance. The bank has the goal of starting with $50 billion in capital, and China is expected to be a major stakeholder.
中国承诺将为该行提供一大部分的初始资金。它之所以提议成立亚投行，部分原因是为了增强在全球金融领域的影响力。该行的目标是筹集到500亿美元（约合3100亿元人民币）的初始资金，而中国预计会成为一个大股东。