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MANILA, PHILIPPINES (27 April 2005) - ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda today met with the President of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Hu Jintao, and reaffirmed ADB's close partnership and cooperation with the PRC.

"ADB highly values the close and deepening collaboration it has had with the PRC in tackling the challenge of inclusive development in Asia, " Mr. Kuroda told the PRC President. "The PRC's role is vital for regional cooperation in Asia, including regional economic integration. We are looking forward to PRC's active participation and continued support in our regional cooperation initiatives."

Mr Kuroda said that ADB has been active in promoting regional economic cooperation and integration and that ADB would strengthen its catalytic role in regional bodies such as ASEAN+3, which includes PRC.

President Hu is on a three-day state visit to the Philippines.

Mr. Kuroda said that ADB stands ready to further step up its assistance to support the PRC's development process. He added ADB will build on its operational base in infrastructure and diversify its operations into rural and urban development, environment, energy conservation, regional cooperation, and social development, both through lending and knowledge-based non-lending operations.

ADB's partnership with the PRC entered a new stage recently with the PRC's contribution of $30 million to ADB's Asian Development Fund, which helps finance poverty reduction projects in ADB's poorest developing member countries.

The PRC has also set up at ADB a $20 million trust fund for regional cooperation and poverty reduction, the first financed by a developing member country of ADB and the first funded by the PRC at any international institution.

Today's meeting was the first between the two presidents and the first between the head of ADB and the President of the PRC since 1999.

Mr. Kuroda, who assumed office as ADB President on 1 February, made his first official visit to the PRC in March, when he met with senior Government officials to discuss mutual cooperation and operations in the country and the region.

On that trip, Mr. Kuroda also signed an agreement for the PRC Fund for Regional Cooperation and Poverty Reduction.

ADB's lending to the PRC since 1986 has amounted to $14.8 billion at the end of 2004 to support economic and social development. In 2004, ADB approved seven loans amounting to $1.26 billion. ADB's average lending to the PRC has exceeded $1 billion per year since 1993.

There are 35 ongoing projects with a total loan amount of $6.1 billion. In addition, ADB has provided 448 technical assistance projects totaling $238.6 million, mostly used to support policy reforms, capacity building and knowledge-based products.