President Xi Jinping pledges during opening ceremony for AIIB that China will devote itself to operation of new development bank

China’s leaders pledged their full support for the newly launched Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)and called on other international development lenders to help improve the region’s infrastructure and create jobs.

President Xi Jinping said at the opening ceremony yesterday that China would also contribute US$50 million to a fund planned by the bank to support infrastructure construction in under-developed countries.

He added that China was committed to devoting itself to the operation of the bank.

Premier Li Keqiang said in a later speech that the AIIB was a milestone in reforming global economic governance.

The bank was first proposed by Xi in October, 2013, when China’s economy was still resilient and Beijing was seeking new ways to spend its growing foreign exchange reserves.

Much has changed since then. China’s foreign exchange reserves are shrinking rapidly as investors turn bearish on prospects for the country’s currency. Allegations that Beijing has mishandled its governance of stock markets amid falling share prices in the past months has also raised fresh concerns about its ability to manage its economy.