A meeting between the Japanese and South Korean finance ministers was “an impetus to deepen cooperative relations” regarding the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), South Korea’s Choi Kyung-hwan told host Taro Aso.

The Beijing-sponsored $100 billion lender is seen as a rival to the U.S.-dominated World Bank and Japan-led Asian Development Bank. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe countered China’s push on Thursday, announcing $110 billion in aid for Asian infrastructure projects over five years.

Aso and Choi “agreed on the importance of assessing enormous demand for infrastructure investments in Asia”, including through Abe’s new “Partnership for Quality Infrastructure”, both countries said in a statement.

Available: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/23/us-asia-aiib-southkorea-japan-idUSKBN0O804X20150523