Photo: VCG

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend and address the Opening Ceremony of the 10th Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Board of Governors in Beijing on June 26, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on Tuesday.

The 2025 AIIB Annual Meeting is taking place from June 24 to 26 in Beijing. This year's annual meeting, under the theme of "Connecting for Development, Collaborating for Prosperity," will take stock of what has been achieved in the past decade and chart the course for the next decade, and is of crucial significance. 

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that since the establishment of the AIIB, thanks to the joint support from all of its members, the bank has acted as a truly international, rule-based and high-standard institution, achieved leapfrog development and become a new important member of the system of global multilateral development institutions, making active contribution to global infrastructure development and sustainable growth.  

China looks forward to working with all parties to jointly support AIIB's development, make new and greater contribution to promoting infrastructure connectivity and sustainable development in Asia and improving the global economic governance system, and better build a community with a shared future for mankind, he said. 

The successful first decade of the Beijing-headquartered AIIB underlines China's support to genuine multilateralism, with the bank filling a financial gap faced by many developing countries aiming to develop themselves, Chinese analysts said on Tuesday.

In an interview with the Xinhua News Agency on Monday, AIIB President Jin Liqun said he believes that in the face of mounting challenges to global development, multilateral cooperation remains the surest route forward.

"As a multilateral institution, AIIB aims to serve as a bridge for both North-South and South-South collaboration," he said.

The AIIB president stated that the bank has withstood the test of time and was warmly received by countries in the world.

"We built AIIB to be lean, clean, and green, and these core values have resonated widely among our members," he said. "From day one, we embedded best practices drawn from other multilateral development banks into our policies and governance framework."

Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the AIIB is characterized by openness, inclusiveness, equality and a greater emphasis on inclusivity.

"As one of its most distinguishing features, the AIIB does not impose any additional political conditions when granting loans to developing countries. Also, the AIIB welcomes contributions of funding from various countries and encourages participation according to commercial rules. Moreover, the AIIB focuses on investing in infrastructure in underdeveloped regions, addressing weak links and enhancing local people's livelihood," Dong said.

Founded in 2015 with 57 members, the AIIB has grown to 110 members worldwide. Over the past decade, it has approved over $60 billion in financing for 322 projects, mobilizing more than $200 billion in infrastructure investment, according to Xinhua.

Echoing Dong, Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said that in the past decade the AIIB has made significant contributions to the development of the multilateral governance system, enhancing the discourse power of emerging economies and developing countries.

"In a post-COVID world where the current global governance structure is undergoing a transformation, along with the collective rise of the Global South, the AIIB has played a vital role in supporting international development financing and ensuring the sustainability of debt in developing countries," Song told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Analysts said the success of the AIIB was achieved despite skepticism and political interference from some Western countries, and its warm reception highlights the world's need for multilateralism as countries seek to bridge infrastructure gaps, drive sustainable growth and foster economic integration.

The AIIB announced on Tuesday that Zou Jiayi, a former Chinese vice minister of finance, has been elected as the next president. Zou's five-year term will begin on January 16, 2026, the day after founding President Jin Liqun concludes his second five-year term, Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

In 2024, the AIIB approved $8.4 billion in financing for 51 projects spanning energy, water, transport, sustainable cities and digital and social infrastructure, reflecting the bank's ongoing commitment to financing "infrastructure for tomorrow" and delivering measurable development outcomes, according to a report published on the bank's official website on Monday.

"In addition to providing financial products, the bank will offer meaningful support for development financing. It is expected to become a platform for sharing global development knowledge, promoting China's approach to addressing development financing challenges to the world," Song said.