Germany's ambassador to China has said he is optimistic the China-proposed Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will be up to the same standards as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Michael Clauss told Xinhua he believes the AIIB has an important role to play in fulfilling the need for more infrastructure and investment in the region.
"We are quite optimistic that it will play this role well," he said at a recent embassy open day.
Germany was one of the first European countries to apply to join the AIIB, though financial powers including the United States and Japan have held off joining, citing concerns about its governance standards.
"Germany has a lot of know-how and talent," Clauss said. "We intend to play a quite prominent role in the AIIB."
The AIIB, expected to be formally established by the end of 2015, will be an international financial institution to fund infrastructure projects in Asia with initial subscribed capital of 50 billion U.S.dollars and planned authorized capital of 100 billion dollars.
China has said the AIIB is intended to play a complementary role alongside existing multilateral development banks and that it will draw experience from these banks to operate more cost-effectively and efficiently.
