AIIB president steers bank to new heights

Jin warned his staff that a triple-A rating is not the same as receiving a doctoral degree. "A PhD, once conferred, stays with you for the rest of your life. A triple-A rating does not," he said. "It will be taken away as soon as you no longer deserve it."

Asked about the AIIB's relations with nonmembers, Jin said the bank remains open and inclusive, with a policy of universal recruitment and international competitive bidding.

The bank has US professionals in important positions and business relations with US banks, such as Bank of New York Mellon, which provides dollar-clearing services, and other nonbanking financial institutions.

"Indeed, Ms Natalie Lichtenstein, an American legal expert with years of experience at the World Bank, served as the chief counsel for drafting the Articles of Agreement, and was the bank's first general counsel," Jin said, adding that the bank also has a few Japanese professionals. He encourages more Japanese to apply for jobs at the AIIB.

Jin talked in glowing terms about cooperation with the World Bank as the AIIB's biggest partner. These two development banks have cofinanced a number of projects over the past three years.

He added that his first meeting with Malpass on April 10 did not touch on specific investment programs, but their exchange of information and ideas went "very well".

Malpass, former United States undersecretary of the Treasury, began his five-year term in early April, following the abrupt resignation of former World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim.

"I think President Malpass is very serious about leading the World Bank in promoting poverty reduction, environmental protection, climate change mitigation, and, in particular, cooperation with our bank," he said.

Asia cannot expect to sustain itself without being connected with the rest of the world, Jin said. That's why AIIB cannot ignore its non-Asian members.

The best way to achieve that purpose is to have close working relationships all the multilateral lenders and bilateral donors, such as the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, African Development Bank, and Islamic Development Bank, he said.

"Each and every institution has its limitations, no matter how much capital it has," Jin said. "We may not have programs as ambitious as a lot of people would expect, but we will do meaningful work and try to play as big a role as possible by leveraging our resources and working with other institutions."

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com