AIIB to uphold multilateralism, expand global development opportunities: president

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will continue championing multilateralism while creating avenues for global development, said AIIB President Jin Liqun on Thursday.

During the press conference for the 10th Annual Meeting of the AIIB Board of Governors in Beijing, Jin detailed the updated corporate strategy approved last week, which provides a forward-looking framework for guiding the Bank’s growth through 2030.

As part of this strategy, AIIB aims to double its annual financing target to 17 billion U.S dollars by 2030.

"We unraveled our updated corporate strategy, a clear road map to guide the bank through the next phase of growth. We released our impact report, which illustrates the real world change," said Jin.

During the annual meeting, AIIB released its first Partnership Report, showcasing the efforts and outcomes of collaboration with its partners in promoting sustainable infrastructure development over the past decade.

Looking ahead, Jin expressed confidence that new opportunities will arise to meet development demands in the coming decade.

"We started with other MDBs like the World Bank, ADB and other institutions, and later on we expanded this partnership with other international financial institutions, development partners, bilateral or multilateral and even private sector partners. So we have been expanding our partnership extensively. Looking forward moving to the next decade, I'm sure new development, demand would create, I would say, huge opportunities," said Jin.

Pedro Vargas David, CEO of Alpac Capital, emphasized AIIB's role in enhancing infrastructure construction across Asia and beyond.

"I think AIIB has been able to actually almost fill a gap in the market. Many countries in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, but in other parts of the world have really benefited from having an institution that has an Eastern look, but is looking to expand. And so the number of projects, the areas where AIIB has been involved can be much more than [this] in the future and I look forward to that," said David.

Founded in 2015, AIIB has grown from 57 founding members to 110 across six continents, covering 81 percent of the world's population and 65 percent of global GDP.

Over the past decade, it has approved over 60 billion U.S. dollars in financing for 320 projects, leveraging more than 200 billion U.S. dollars in infrastructure investment.

AIIB to uphold multilateralism, expand global development opportunities: president

AIIB to uphold multilateralism, expand global development opportunities: president

AIIB to uphold multilateralism, expand global development opportunities: president

AIIB to uphold multilateralism, expand global development opportunities: president

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday that Seoul firmly adheres to the one-China principle, in comments made ahead of his upcoming state visit to China.

The remarks were made in an interview with China Media Group (CMG). The visit is scheduled for Jan 4–7.

"The consensus reached between governments of the Republic of Korea and China when diplomatic relations were established continues to be the fundamental principle governing our relations, and its effectiveness remains steadfast. I want to clearly state that the ROK has always adhered to the one-China principle. Maintaining peace and stability in regional matters, including in Northeast Asia and concerning the Taiwan issue, holds significant importance to us," said Lee.

"The foundational relationship between the ROK and China was established on a very principled and fundamental basis from the beginning. It is clear that the ROK government has always adhered to this position and has never wavered from it. I believe that the sound development of ROK-China relations depends on both sides fully respecting each other's core interests and being mutually tolerant of each other's positions. In this context, we will, as always, uphold the one-China principle as the Taiwan issue is China's most fundamental concern," he said.

ROK president reiterates firm adherence to one-China principle