Officials of India and 56 other founding members of China-floated 50 billion US dollar Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) met in Bejing to finalise the rules of the bank whose operation is expected to begin later this year. The overall format of AIIB is to be finalised in three meetings, first of which was held recently. Chinese officials stated that the Bank will draw best practices from the IMF, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank but will avoid domination of few countries setting rules for the international financial system. As a new multilateral institution focusing exclusively on infrastructure development, Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said the AIIB will be dominated by developing countries, and their requests and demands need to be respected. While China has already been designated as President of the bank, India could get the Vice President post under the formula based on 50 per cent Gross Domestic Product, and 50 per cent Purchasing Power Parity, with primacy to be given to the Asian countries for share holders. The UK, Australia, France and Germany have also joined the bank while US and Japan stayed away. Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama and Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe have said that they are not opposed to China's Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, but stressed it needs high standards and transparency. Neither said their country would join the new AIIB –which many European and Asian allies have signed on to already. Both the leaders said they would work with the AIIB, if its project and loan standards are strong. Obama, in a joint White House press conference with Abe, said that Asia needs infrastructure but if we are going to have a multilateral lending institution, then some guidelines is needed to operate it as the World Bank operates. Abe said that there is a tremendous demand for infrastructure in Asia, but any projects the bank backs need to pay close heed to the needs of societies and the environment. Obama also insisted that, contrary to media reports, Washington had not opposed others like Britain joining the AIIB.