SHANGHAI, May 9 (Xinhuanet) -- The 35th Annual Meeting of the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) will actively influence the regional
economy through discussing financial affairs and spreading
accurate and comprehensive policy information in the Asian-Pacific
region.
   The remarks were made in Shanghai Thursday by Xiang Huaicheng,
Chinese Minister of Finance, and also chairman of the 35th board
of governors of the ADB.
   The annual meeting of the ADB focuses on the regional economic
situation, its prospects and existing problems, and the ADB's
financial affairs.
   According to Xiang, the annual meeting is expected to promote
the ADB's progress in developing financing, increasing aid to
developing countries, reducing poverty, protecting the environment
and upgrading regional economic cooperation.
   The meeting is also expected to help create business models of
the ADB, he added.
   Xiang proposed several areas in which the ADB can play an
important role, including transferring more preferential capital
to developing members, studying the problems developing members
face in their integration into the regional and world economy, and
promoting regional economic cooperation to build closer
partnership among ADB members.
   Xiang stressed that China appreciated and supported the ADB's
efforts in promoting regional economic cooperation and development.
   China had always been active in many cooperative projects
proposed by the ADB, which could not only promote cooperation with
neighboring countries and regions, but also helped develop the
country's relatively poor western regions, Xiang said.
   China would continue to promote regional economic cooperation
advocated by the ADB to eliminate the side effects of
globalization and achieve equal regional development, Xiang said.
Enditem