Officials from 57 countries gathered in Beijing on Monday to sign an agreement creating the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Australia was the first nation to sign the agreement.
The bank was created to help Asia meet the need for $800 billion a year to build roads, railroads and ports. It will also have money for telecommunications, energy and electricity projects.
China is giving the bank almost $30 billion. The bank will begin operations with about $100 billion. China will control more than 25 percent of the votes in the bank. India and Russia are the second- and third-largest shareholders.
The United States and Japan have refused to join the bank. They are worried about its rules. The U.S. asked many of its allies in Africa, Europe and South America not to join the bank, but most of them did.
