AIIB opens to lay down milestone for global economic governance

(XINHUA FINANCE)TheAsianInfrastructureInvestmentBank(AIIB),aChina-initiatedmultilateralbank,startedoperationalonSaturday,markingamilestoneinthereformofglobaleconomicgovernancesystem.

Representativesofthe57foundingcountriesgatheredinBeijingfortheAIIBopeningceremonyinDiaoyutaiStateGuesthouse.ChinesePresidentXiJinpingmadeaspeech.Withjointeffortsofallthemembers,theAIIBwillbecome"aprofessional,efficientandcleandevelopmentbankforthe21stcentury"and"anewplatformtohelpfosteracommunityofsharedfutureformankind,tomakenewcontributiontoprosperityofAsiaandbeyondandlendnewstrengthtoimprovementofglobaleconomicgovernance,"Xisaid.

Duringtheceremony,ChineseFinanceMinisterLouJiweiwasannouncedtobeelectedasthefirstchairmanoftheAIIBboardofgovernors.JinLiqunwaselectedthefirstAIIBpresident.Inadditiontosubscribingcapitalaccordingtoplan,Chinavowedtocontribute50millionU.S.dollarstotheprojectpreparationspecialfundtobeestablishedsoon,tosupportthepreparationforinfrastructuredevelopmentprojectsinlessdevelopedmemberstates.

TheAIIBwillpromoteinfrastructurerelatedinvestmentandfinancingforthebenefitofallsides,Xisaid,keepingAsia'senormousinfrastructuredevelopmentdemandinmind.CallingtheinitiativetoestablishtheAIIB"aconstructivemove,"XisaiditwillenableChina"toundertakemoreinternationalobligations,promoteimprovementofthecurrentinternationaleconomicsystemandprovidemoreinternationalpublicgoods."

StatisticsfromtheAsianDevelopmentBank(ADB)showthatbetween2010and2020,aroundeighttrillionU.S.dollarsininvestmentwillbeneededintheAsia-Pacificregiontoimproveinfrastructure.XiexpectedtheChina-initiatedinstitutionandotherexistingmultilateraldevelopmentbankstocomplementeachotherformutualstrengthandcooperateonjointfinancing,knowledgesharingandcapacitybuilding.

InhisaddressatthefoundingconferenceoftheAIIBcouncilonSaturdayafternoon,ChinesePremierLiKeqiangsaidtheoperationofthenewmultinationaldevelopmentbankis"ofpositiveandconstructivesignificancefortheglobaleconomicgovernancereform."

HailingAsia"anengine"fortheglobaleconomicgrowth,LisaidthesustainabledevelopmentoftheAsianeconomyandregionaleconomicintegrationrelyontheinfrastructureconstructionandconnectivity,whichwouldhelpfacilitatetheflowoftrade,investment,personnelandinformation.

TheaimofChinainitiatingtheAIIBistowidenfinancingchannels,expandgeneralneedsandimprovesupplysoastobringalongthecommondevelopmentintheregionandpromoteworldeconomicrecoverywithitsownachievements,hesaid.

ThepremiercalledontheAIIBtointegratetheChina-proposedBeltandRoadinitiativewitheachcountry'sdevelopmentstrategies,promoteinternationalcooperationonproductioncapacityandinnovatemoremodestorealizeadiverseandinclusivecooperation.

Globalleadersextendedcongratulationstotheopeningofthemultilateraldevelopmentbank."TheADBwillcooperatecloselywithAIIBinsupportingthedevelopmentoftheAsiaPacificregion,"saidADBPresidentTakehikoNakaoinacongratulatorymessagetotheopeningoftheAIIB.

"WewillcooperatecloselytoprovidesupportandconstructivesuggestionsfortheAIIBdevelopment,"saidYooIl-ho,deputyprimeministeroftheRepublicofKoreaattheopeningceremony.China'sViceFinanceMinisterShiYaobinsaidinaninterviewwithXinhuathatChinadoesnotintendtoapplyforfinancialsupportfromAIIBintheinitialstage.

"ThoughasthebiggestshareholderofAIIBandthebiggestdevelopingcountryintheworld,ChinaisfullyqualifiedtogainloansfromtheAIIB,butwemadethedecisionmainlybecausethatmanyothercountriesintheregionareinmoreurgentneedforinfrastructuredevelopment,"saidShi.

ShisaidChinaholds30.34percentofthewholecapitalstock,withthefirstbatchofcapitalstockworth1.19billionU.S.dollarsalreadyinplace.TheAIIBwasproposedbyPresidentXiJinpinginOctober2013.Twoyearslater,thebankwasformallyestablishedastheArticlesofAgreementtookeffectonDec.25lastyear.

Asitsnamesuggests,theAIIBwillfinanceconstructionofinfrastructures--airports,mobilephonetowers,railwaysandroads--inAsia.Amidtheevolvingtrendoftheglobaleconomiclandscape,XiexpectedtheAIIBwillhelpmaketheglobaleconomicgovernancesystemmorejust,equitableandeffective.