Key lessons for AIIB's success

The third lesson for the AIIB "would be to cooperate with other institutions" to apply the best standards, said Nehru, noting that cooperation between the AIIB and existing institutions will make sure developing countries "get the best services" from multilateral development bank community.

The heads of the World Bank and the ADB have welcomed the AIIB with open arms, pledging to strengthen cooperation with the new multilateral institution.

"Infrastructure needs in the developing world are enormous. They are enormous in Asia for AIIB. Our full expectation is that we will continue to work closely," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said Thursday at a press conference.

With initial subscribed capital of $50 billion and planned authorized capital of $100 billion, China is also aware that the bank and its members alone cannot bridge the funding gap in Asia.

The AIIB is intended to play a complementary role alongside existing multilateral development banks, and China welcomes the World Bank and the ADB to increase infrastructure investment, Zhu said.

Nehru suggested that the AIIB could start cooperating with the World Bank and the ADB through co-financing for existing infrastructure projects which are already in the pipeline.

If the AIIB wants to cooperate with the private sector on financing individual infrastructure projects and raise capital from international financial markets, it has to meet high international standards in terms of environmental evaluation and social safeguards, Nehru noted.

"We agree with high standards, and opinions will be gathered through negotiations and reflected in the formal legal document," Zhu echoed.

With the signing of the charter slated for the end of June, the AIIB looks set to be launched by the end of the year.

If the AIIB could draw valuable lessons from existing multilateral development banks, there is no reason to believe that this new initiative could not be successful, many global finance officials agreed during the spring meetings.

Nehru said it's "quite remarkable" for the AIIB to already have 57 founding members from Asia, Europe and the Middle East, as the ADB has just 67 members today after so many decades of operation.

"I believe Chinese authorities want to have a modern, global, and high-quality institution," he added.