China's Zou Jiayi named next AIIB president
BEIJING, June 24 (Reuters) - China's finance ministry said on Tuesday the next president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank would be Zou Jiayi, a former Chinese vice finance minister who is expected to lead efforts to expand the lender's presence in major global financial centres.
Zou will take office in January for a five-year term from Jin Liqun, the ministry said in a statement.
AIIB's second president and first female leader, Zou inherits an organisation that Jin - another former Chinese vice finance minister and one of the country's most influential financial officials, having previously also held positions at the Asian Development Bank and the country's sovereign wealth fund - shaped into a key facilitator of President Xi Jinping's sprawling 'Belt and Road' initiative.
But during his second term, Jin faced allegations that the Chinese Communist Party exerted undue influence within the multilateral development bank, claims the AIIB said it had investigated and dismissed.
Established by Xi in 2016 as a Chinese alternative to the World Bank and other Western-led multilateral lending institutions, the AIIB has 110 members worldwide, including India, Russia, Germany and Britain.
Zou is tipped to push the Beijing-based lender into closer alignment with major development spenders such as the U.S. and Japan, development diplomats say. Bloomberg and Politico have reported that the AIIB also seeks to set up offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and London, in addition to its current satellite office in Abu Dhabi.
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