China Joins IDB

    China is now officially a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and of the group's Inter-American Investment Corporation and Multilateral Investment Fund. China is an important investment and trade partner of Latin America, and the country's accession to the IDB at this critical conjuncture in the current financial crisis signifies greater poverty alleviation and development in Latin America and the Caribbean, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno said. The IDB group, founded in 1959 and headquartered in Washington D.C., is the oldest and largest regional inter-governmental financial institution operating specifically to promote economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean. China is its 48th member country. Governor Zhou Xiaochuan and Deputy Governor Hu Xiaolian of the People's Bank of China serve as governor and alternate governor for China respectively in the Inter-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Investment Corporation.