China to join Inter-American Development Bank
China will join the Inter-American Development Bank as a donor member, building on its growing links with Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Asian power will become the 48th member country in the Washington, DC-based IDB, the single largest source of long-term lending for the region, said the bank in a statement released on Thursday.
“We are thrilled to bring a large and growing economy like China into a community of nations that are working together to resolve the complex development challenges facing Latin America and the Caribbean,” said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno.
“It is a historic decision that takes China’s thriving commercial relationship with our region into the development sphere,” he noted.
China has agreed to contribute 350 million dollars to the IDB Group to bolster key programs at a time when the world economy is under duress.
The funds would be distributed as follows:
– 125 million dollars will go to the IDB’s Fund for Special Operations, which provides soft loans to Bolivia, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
– 75 million dollars will go to multiple IDB grant funds to strengthen the institutional capacity of the state, including municipal governments and private sector institutions.
– 75 million dollars is for an equity fund to be administered by the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), which lends to small and mid-sized private businesses.
– 75 million dollars is to be administered by the Multilateral Investment Fund, the IDB arm that focuses on microenterprises.
“China’s membership in IDB will provide both sides with a new platform and opportunity for increased two-way trade and investment and greater technological cooperation,” said Zhou Wenzhong, Chinese ambassador to the United States. “This is a win-win decision that will serve everyone’s interest.”
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