President Xi Jinping called on the Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank on Tuesday to make itself a new platform promoting development
among all members and facilitating the building of a community with a
shared future for mankind in the context of the global response to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In his opening address, via video link, at the fifth annual meeting
of the Board of Governors of the AIIB, Xi urged the multilateral
development bank to respond to adjustments and changes in the global
economic landscape and engage more development partners in cooperation. "It (the AIIB) needs to provide public goods for our region and
beyond, push for regional economic integration and help make economic
globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all," he
said. "Let us stay open and inclusive and make the AIIB a new paradigm
of multilateral cooperation." Xi applauded the bank for its prompt move to set up a COVID-19 Crisis
Recovery Facility to support its members in containing the virus and
reviving their economies. The AIIB had approved 16 projects via the facility as of July 16, allocating $5.9 billion in funding to support 12 members. "This is a typical example of the AIIB's power of action. The global
response to COVID-19 has made it clear that mankind rises and falls
together in a community with a shared future," Xi said. He recalled his proposal to establish the bank in late 2013, noting
that this initiative was to develop infrastructure and connectivity in
Asia and deepen regional cooperation for shared development. The bank has gotten off to a good start and has gone from strength to
strength, he said, as it expanded from 57 member economies at its
launch in January 2016 to the current membership of 102 across the
globe. The AIIB said in a statement that it had provided close to $20
billion in infrastructure investment for 87 projects in 24 economies as
of July 16. "With more good friends and partners getting on board for
higher-quality cooperation, the AIIB has established itself in the world
as a new type of professional, efficient and clean multilateral
development bank," Xi said. Going forward, he urged the bank to aim at development for all and
build itself into a new type of multilateral development bank promoting
growth across the globe. The AIIB should commit itself to serving the development needs of all
its members and providing more high-quality, low-cost and sustainable
investment for traditional as well as new types of infrastructure, he
said. He expressed hope that the institution can help enhance connectivity,
promote green development and boost technological advances by
constantly updating its development philosophy, business model and
institutional governance, and by providing flexible and diverse
development financing products. "While following international standards and respecting the general
law of development, the AIIB should keep in mind the actual development
needs of its members, thus creating best practices for international
development cooperation," he said, adding that high standards and high
quality must be ensured in the development of the bank. Xi reiterated that China always supports and adheres to
multilateralism, and pursues development with the rest of the world in a
spirit of openness and mutually beneficial cooperation. He pledged the country's continuous support for the bank, so it can
contribute more to the global response to risks and challenges and the
pursuit of shared development. Jin Liqun was re-elected for a second term as president of the AIIB
by the bank's Board of Governors on Tuesday. Jin's second five-year term
will begin on Jan 16. Liu Kun, minister of finance and governor of the AIIB, said the
annual meeting can help establish consensus on ways to give play to the
role of multilateral development banks as the pandemic still rages
globally. China will gradually inject the capital it has pledged to invest in the bank based on its rules of operation, he added. Wei Jianguo, vice-chairman of the China Center for International
Economic Exchanges and a former vice-minister of commerce, said the AIIB
has contributed to the Belt and Road Initiative, and more countries in
Asia, Europe and Africa will seek the AIIB's financial support to
promote domestic economic growth. He added that Japan and more European countries are likely to join the AIIB in the future.
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