Asia

Kuroda: China-led lender's help needed to support growth

Associated Press
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FILE - In this July 24, 2016, file photo, Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda attends the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Chengdu in Southwestern China's Sichuan province. Japan’s central bank chief Kuroda said Tuesday, May 2, 2017, Asia needs all the help it can get in fighting poverty as both wealthy and poor nations grapple with widening inequality. Kuroda said he welcomes Beijing’s push to support regional growth through the Chinese-initiated Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool, File) (The Associated Press)

A security officer salutes at the entrance to the Bank of Japan in Tokyo, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Tuesday Asia needs all the help it can get in fighting poverty as both wealthy and poor nations grapple with widening inequality. Japan's central bank chief Kuroda said he welcomes Beijing’s push to support regional growth through the Chinese-initiated Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama) (The Associated Press)

A security officer stands guard at the entrance to the Bank of Japan in Tokyo, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Tuesday Asia needs all the help it can get in fighting poverty as both wealthy and poor nations grapple with widening inequality. Japan's central bank chief Kuroda said he welcomes Beijing's push to support regional growth through the Chinese-initiated Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama) (The Associated Press)

Japan's central bank chief says Asia needs all the help it can get in fighting poverty as both wealth and poor nations grapple with widening inequality.

Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Tuesday he welcomes Beijing's push to support regional growth through the Chinese-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Kuroda was speaking at a conference on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank's annual meeting. It begins Thursday in Yokohama, near Tokyo.

The China-backed AIIB has been seen as a competitor to the ADB, which has been led by Japan and the U.S. since its founding in 1966.

Kuroda, a former president of the Manila, Philippines-based ADB, said the China-backed AIIB would bring welcome help in the effort to finance construction of vital infrastructure such as roads, ports and bridges.