China reiterated that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an open and inclusive multilateral development organization, and will admit new members based on its Articles of Agreement (AOA).

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang made the remarks at a regular news briefing when commenting on Canada's possibility of joining the AIIB.

Canada's Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland said in a speech on March 30 that not joining the AIIB as a founding member was "a lost opportunity" for Canada.

According to the AOA, qualified countries or regions will be admitted to the bank with permission of the Board of Governors, Lu said.

As its advocate, Lu said China will be pleased by AIIB's growth, which will allow it playing a bigger role in promoting global economic recovery, regional infrastructure construction and interconnection, to the benefits of more countries.

(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2016)