South Korean President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech during an opening ceremony for 2nd annual meeting of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in Jeju, South Korea June 16, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] JEJU ISLAND, South Korea - The China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) won achievements in a short time of just one and a half years despite challenges facing the international development bank, South Korea's deputy finance minister said. AIIB already generated achievements in one and a half years of its establishment, Song In-chang, deputy minister for international affairs at South Korea's Ministry of Strategy and Finance, told Xinhua Saturday on the sidelines of the AIIB's annual meeting. The second annual meeting of the AIIB's board of governors lasted for two days through Saturday in South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju. The first meeting was held in Beijing last year. The third annual meeting was scheduled to be held in India in June 2018. The AIIB, officially launched in January 2016, is a multilateral development bank initiated by China and supported by a wide range of countries and regions, which provides financing for infrastructure improvement in Asia. The deputy minister said the 18-month-old AIIB achieved what other multilateral development banks (MDBs) took four to five years to achieve. To date, the AIIB has approved 2.49 billion U.S. dollars in financing for 16 infrastructure projects in nine countries. Twelve of the projects were co-financed, while four were standalone projects prepared by the bank. AIIB's progress is very fast. AIIB President Jin Liqun did well, said Song. Despite the lack of experience of the newest international financial institution, Song said the AIIB has an advantage of making a fast decision by the decision-making body. He said the South Korean government will actively support corporate infrastructure projects linked to the AIIB by creating a firm networking with AIIB officials. Meanwhile, Song held a separate press conference with local reporters on Saturday, saying South Korea's hosting of the AIIB's first annual meeting outside the Beijing headquarters had a great meaning to the country. President Moon Jae-in, who took office on May 10, made a congratulatory address at the opening ceremony of the AIIB annual meeting on Friday, making a debut into the international event. South Korea is the fifth-biggest shareholder of the AIIB which owns about $100 billion of subscribed capital, including some $20 billion in paid-in capital. The deputy minister said South Korea planned to share its technology, experience and finance of infrastructure with other AIIB members to contribute to the environmentally-friendly economic development in Asia. Among the 80 approved members, 75 delegations attended the AIIB's second annual meeting along with 46 officials from multilateral development banks such as the Asian Development Bank. It was a very high participation rate, said Song. In addition to the delegations and MDB officials, central bankers and over 20 finance ministers attended the second annual meeting. The number of AIIB members was raised to 80, including 57 founding members, as the board of governors approved Argentina, Madagascar and Tonga as new members during the business session on Friday. mental health wristbanduv braceletmake your own rubber braceletrubber wristbands
Pediatrician Yang Yang checks a child at Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center in Guangdong province in January. ZHANG ZIWANG/FOR CHINA DAILY Fees for medical treatments and examinations of children 6 and younger were raised by 30 percent in Guangzhou recently as a way to keep the city's pediatricians from quitting their jobs. According to a notice issued by four city government departments at the end of April, the higher fees cover 408 kinds of treatments and examinations for children. The increase in fees for children aims to overcome the difficulty in seeing pediatricians and to encourage more medical students to become pediatricians, the notice said. The price increase is also expected to encourage State-run hospitals to provide even better medical services to children. An ordinary diagnostic fee for a child was increased from 10 yuan to 13 yuan ($1.60 to $2.05). A tonsillectomy rose from 520 yuan to 676 yuan. Gong Sitang, deputy president of the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, said the policy is people-oriented, as it allows pediatricians to feel respected. Pediatricians usually have to be more careful and face heavy pressure in seeing child patients because some of the children are too young to speak or can't clearly describe their symptoms, Gong said. Also, most of them are their parents' only child and usually the apple of their parents' eye. Gong said the price hike will not increase the burden of patients or parents who enjoy medical insurance or who are covered by the country's healthcare system. Most of the children's medical expense are actually paid by the government and insurance companies, he said. Fang Zhuohong, a Guangzhou office worker, said she hoped the higher fees would make it easier to see pediatricians. Many parents have to spend at least half a day to bring their children to see a doctor in Guangzhou, she said. Many people won't be able to see senior doctors or specialists if they don't make appointments in advance. But not all people applauded the move. The price hike will increase the burden for myriad migrant workers who come from outside the city, said one Guangzhou resident, who refused to give his name. Many of them don't have local medical insurance and have not yet been included in the healthcare system. A shortage of pediatricians has seen some city hospitals close their pediatrics departments in recent years. A pediatrician at a major general hospital, who did not want to be named, said many pediatricians in his hospital have to work overtime. Some pediatricians have to see as many as 200 patients a day, about three times the number seen by an ordinary doctor, he said.
