EBRD secretary general looking forward to fruitful collaboration with China

LONDON - The secretary general of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said he was looking forward to a fruitful collaboration between China and its institutions and his London-based international development bank.

"China has an important contribution to make to the EBRD because it wants to share with us its own development story, its own experiences. It wants to share the lessons it has learned," EBRD secretary general Enzo Quattrociocche said in an interview with Xinhua.

The EBRD's area of operations includes central and eastern Europe, central Asia, and the Mediterranean area. The EBRD is owned by 64 countries and regions, and also the European Union and the European Investment Bank.

Quattrociocche added, "China has some ties with many of our countries of operation not only in Asia but also in central Europe, through the Central and Eastern European countries and regions -- the 16 central and eastern European countries plus China which was set up in 2012, and which held its most recent summit in Suzhou, China, a few weeks ago."

The EBRD business model was unusual, said Quattrociocche, compared to other international financial institutions, because it had a focus on private sector development with finance of private sector projects with private sector sponsors, somewhat different from the World Bank business model or that of other regional development banks.

The EBRD is committed to furthering progress towards "market-oriented economies and the promotion of private and entrepreneurial initiative." The bank started its operations, with London as the base for its headquarters, in April 1991.

In the past 24 years it has built up contacts with authorities throughout its regions of operations, said Quattrociocche, and a deep knowledge of regional markets.

Quattrociocche said that China's role as one of the sponsor nations within the EBRD would be a win-win for both parties.

"Chinese sponsors may benefit from investing along with the EBRD. The EBRD is the largest single investor in our regions of operations," he said.

"China can be a very important donor to the region. We can compare notes with China in terms of their experience in their own transition process towards market economics," he added.

The EBRD had existing relations with the newly-established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which has its headquarters in Beijing.

"We have a very good relationship with the AIIB which started in the early part of this year," said Quattrociocche. "The EBRD had been invited earlier in the year to Beijing by the AIIB, along with other international financial institutions, to talk about its governance model and environmental practices."

"The AIIB is very keen and so are we to co-finance projects in our shared countries of operations," he said.