WASHINGTON (AFP) - United States Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Tuesday that Washington was "ready to welcome" the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), easing towards the new development institution after the US expressed early concerns.
Mr Lew said in a San Francisco speech just after a trip to Beijing that the United States would embrace any new international development bank providing it "complements" existing institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
He also stressed that new institutions needed to "share the international community's strong commitment to genuine multilateral governance and decision making, and ever-improving lending standards and safeguards", according to his prepared speech.
Speaking at the northern California chapter of the Asia Society, Mr Lew said he was encouraged that Chinese leaders "made clear that they aspire to meet high standards and welcome partnership". "Our consistent focus on standards has already had an impact and, as lending begins, the test will be the character of the projects funded and their impact on the people and countries they serve."
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