China's Vice Minister of Finance, Jin Liqun, has been appointed vice president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Ministry of Finance announced on July 10.

The ministry said the board of directors of the ADB, acting on the recommendation of ADB president Chino Tadao, made the appointment on Thursday, with effect from August 1, 2003.

With this appointment, Jin will become the first Chinese ADB vice president since the institution's establishment in 1966.

Jin will succeed Shin Myoung-ho, of the Republic of Korea, who will end his term on July 31.

Sources with the MOF said many countries had recommended competitive candidates for the post and the competition was very intense.

As the candidate of China, Jin was said to be experienced in fiscal, financial and macro-economic administration, and he also has experience of working in international financial institutions. 　　

The ADB, with 61 member states, is the largest regional development bank in the Asia-Pacific area and offers a total of US$6 billion of aid annually to its developing member states. Its headquarters is in Manila, Philippines.

(Xinhua News Agency July 11, 2003)