The Chinese foreign affairs ministry says it welcomes the possibility of the U.S. joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The comment comes after reports that an adviser to president-elect Donald Trump called the US refusal to join the AIIB a mistake.

"In our opinion, the AIIB is set up to promote infrastructure building in Asia, satisfy relevant investment needs, drive regional economic development and improve the lives of people in the region. Therefore, it's not a bad thing if the US, the largest economy in the world, joins the AIIB. That's been our belief at the outset. After all, the AIIB is an open and inclusive multilateral development institution, as it keeps stressing," said Geng Shuang, spokesman of Chinese ministry of foreign affairs.