China becomes shareholder in European bank

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced on Monday that its board of governors had approved China as a new bank shareholder.

China's membership will boost its opportunities for bilateral cooperation with countries along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative, experts said.

The EBRD, established in April 1991 with headquarters in London, is a multilateral development institution that provides diversified debt products and financing services in Central and Eastern Europe, the Eastern and South Mediterranean and Central Asia.