

(File photo)
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was formally established on Friday after it garnered enough countries' domestic approval.
The launch of the bank, the first major multilateral lender with developing countries holding the majority of the shares and votes, came just six months after an articles of agreement (AOA) was signed by 57 prospective founding members in June, and 26 months after President Xi Jinping proposed it in October 2013.
According to the AOA, the bank can be legally valid as long as more than 10 countries, with their represented total subscribed capital no less than 50 percent of the total capital, get the AOA approved by their legislatures.
So far, 17 countries have approved the mini-constitution and submitted to Beijing. Their combined subscribed capital makes up 50.1 percent of the total, according to a statement by China's Ministry of Finance.
The 17 countries are: Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, China, Mongolia, Austria, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Luxemburg, South Korea, Georgia, the Netherland, Germany, Norway, Pakistan, and Jordan.
The bank will be operational in mid-January, and the bank's Board of Governors and Board of Directors will hold their first meeting from Jan 16 to 18 in Beijing. More prospective founding members will approve the AOA and deliver to Beijing between the time window.
Are these the world’s scariest landing strips?
In pics: Left behind children in China
Eight modern day engineering marvels of China
Chinese beauty with sexiest bottom
Charming female bodybuilders of Chengdu University
Polish sports stars strip off for risqué calendar
Spectacular aerial photos of the Three Gorges
Contestants of Mrs. Globe pose for photo in Shenzhen
Bikini models attend hot pot banquet in Hefei
Top 20 hottest women in the world in 2014
Top 10 hardest languages to learn
10 Chinese female stars with most beautiful faces
China’s Top 10 Unique Bridges, Highways and Roads
Give a dam
Surrogate farmers
Are you naughty or nice
A look at the major online trends for China in 2015Day|Week