All papers ran inside-page reports on the inauguration on Saturday in Beijing of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) amid worldwide concern over the slowing Chinese economy. Asahi wrote that Japan remains cautious about the possibility of participating in the bank, quoting Finance Minister Aso as saying on Friday that there has been no change in Tokyo’ s position. The paper conjectured that the United States is making efforts to effectuate the TPP agreement as a new economic framework in the region, quoting USTR Froman as saying on January 13 that delay is costly, both in economic terms and in terms of U.S. leadership. Mainichi conjectured that the U.S. and Japan will try to maintain their presence in Asia by building cooperation between the AIIB and the Asia Development Bank.