The fourth annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is opened in Luxembourg on July 12, 2019. (Xinhua/File photo)

BEIJING, July 15 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has announced that its fifth annual meeting will be held in Beijing in July 2020.

"We appreciate the role of China in initiating the establishment of the AIIB and the strong support it has provided since its inception," said AIIB Vice President and Corporate Secretary Sir Danny Alexander.

China is among the AIIB's founding members and host to the bank's headquarters.

"By 2020, the bank will enter its fifth year of operations, with 100 approved members and 8.5 billion U.S. dollars in investments for 45 projects in 18 countries," said Alexander.

Photo taken on Jan. 12, 2018 shows a sign of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua)

The 2020 AIIB annual meeting marks the transition from the start-up phase to the AIIB's future growth and expansion.

"We are honored to host the fifth AIIB annual meeting in Beijing and look forward to working with all members in scaling up efforts to build a professional, efficient and clean 21st-century multilateral development bank. I welcome you all to Beijing," said Liu Kun, finance minister of China.

The China-initiated multilateral financial institution began operation in January 2016 with 57 founding members, with an agenda focused on supporting sustainable development through infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia and beyond.