China Hails Taiwanese Decision to Join Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

BEIJING (Sputnik) — Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed the decision of Taiwan to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) during a Saturday meeting with Taiwanese head Ma Ying-jeou.

Earlier in the day, Chinese and Taiwanese leaders met in Singapore for the first time since the civil war ended in 1949.

“Chinese President Xi Jinping said that he welcomes an active participation of Taiwanese compatriots in construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and hails Taiwan's joining of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in accordance with the established procedure,” Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese State Council Zhang Zhijun said following the meeting of two leaders.

The AIIB is a China-proposed international financial institution with the aim of investing in infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region. Currently, the financial organization has 57 prospective founding members, including a number of major European economies, such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom. China is the largest shareholder in the bank, followed by India and Russia.

The AIIB is expected to commence operations by the end of 2015.