Jagdeo's begging bowl at the ready

China has joined the Inter-American Development Bank as a donor member, building on its growing links with Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Asian giant which becomes the 48th member country in the Washington, DC-based IDB, the single largest source of long-term lending for the region, has agreed to contribute US$350M to the IDB Group to bolster key programmes at a time when the world economy is under duress.