【今日头条】欧洲多国同意加入亚投行

It's been confirmed that France will join the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB. And reports indicate it is set to expand further, with Germany and Italy said to be applying for membership as well. Rumors of the three potential European members of the AIIB were first revealed by British newspaper The Financial Times, but France's finance ministry is the only one to confirm the news so far. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei says China welcomes applications from any countries that want to join this financial platform. "AIIB is an open and inclusive multilateral investment organization. The participation of countries outside the region shows that AIIB has a broad representation. China is willing to exert joint efforts with other parties, to make AIIB a professional and efficient investment platform for infrastructure construction with mutual benefits." The President of the European Union Parliament, Martin Schulz, says that he agrees with EU countries joining the China-backed, 50-billion-U.S.- dollar bank. "First answer: I find it good that they join. The second answer: if more member states would join I would find it even better. There is one additional element. Such new organizations must answer to the requirements of international standards. That's one important element." The comment was made at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday after Schulz met with top Chinese leadership on Monday. Meanwhile, the Australian government has also suggested it may be interested in being involved in the China proposed AIIB, which marks a conspicuous U-turn from the cabinet's previous stance. In addition, South Korea, Switzerland and Luxembourg have reportedly been pondering whether to join the new international initiative. Up till now, nearly 30 countries have confirmed their participation in the AIIB, which is aimed at helping to finance infrastructure projects across Asia and is expected to come into being later this year. The official deadline to apply is the end of this month. However, as the application needs to be discussed by the current founding members, today is actually the last day for any country to send out their application. For more on this issue, CRI's Zhao Yang earlier spoke with Jean-Marc F. Blanchard, Director of the Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations at Jiaotong University in Shanghai. Back anchor: Jean-Marc F. Blanchard, Director of the Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations at Jiaotong University in Shanghai.