Former Chinese vice finance minister Jin Liqun was appointed as the first president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on Monday.
Jin was formally nominated as a candidate for the position on June 25, and it was only made public during the announcement at the 6th Chief Negotiators' Meeting of the establishment of the AIIB.
"Jin has rich leadership experience in the public and private sectors as well as multilateral development institutions," China's finance ministry said in a statement.
At 66 years old, Jin was elected the secretary-general of the interim multilateral secretariat for establishing the AIIB in 2014 and became the first Chinese vice president of the Asian Development Bank in 2003.
He was also the chairman of the supervisory board of the China Investment Corporation and board chairman of the China International Capital Corporation Ltd.
In a report by the Global Times, Huang Wei, an expert at the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stated that it is only natural that the first president of the bank is a Chinese who is fully qualified for the post.
With the appointment of its first president, observers and analysts expect projects to be launched soon.
"Since the president is appointed, the bank can get down to specific work, such as selecting projects. The priority is to find a good project to set the bar high, or a benchmark for itself," Huang added.
Furthermore, Huang sees the bank as a significant part in the implementation of the "One Belt, One Road" initiatives, which have a strong emphasis on infrastructure.
In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed the establishment of a bank that would finance not only Asian infrastructure projects in various fields, but also those in other regions where developing countries are located.