(Beijing) – China will likely have 26 percent of the voting rights in the Asia Infrastructure Development Bank (AIIB), giving it veto power over its important decisions, a person with knowledge of the matter says.

A source close to the bank said had China was not seeking veto power and was willing to reduce its voting rights to less than one-quarter if countries such as Japan and the United States wanted to join.

The secretariat in charge of preparing for the establishment of the AIIB declined to comment.

The AIIB is a multilateral investment institution proposed by China to support infrastructure development in Asia. It has 57 founding countries and plans to start with registered capital of US$ 100 billion.

Representatives from the founding countries will meet in Beijing on June 29 to sign the bank's articles of incorporation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on June 25.

Michael Clauss, Germany's ambassador to China, said a 26 percent stake will give China veto power over important decisions that require a "super majority" of at least 75 percent of votes and approval of two-thirds of all member countries. But using the power will be against China's interests, he said.

The AIIB will have a powerful board of directors and rules about decision-making, he said, mechanisms that can balance China's dominant voting rights. Germany will be represented on the board, he said.

Germany is the biggest contributor of capital to the AIIB among non-Asian countries, people close to the situation said. It plans to take a 4.1 percent stake with an initial investment of US$ 900 million. It also plans to invest another US$ 3.6 billion from 2016 to 2019.

The secretariat had not chosen the AIIB's president and vice president as of June 23, the source with knowledge of the matter said. Many people say that Jin Liqun, who heads the secretariat, will lead the bank.

David Dollar, a former representative of the International Monetary Fund in China, has said that it is fair for AIIB's first president to be a Chinese person considering that the country holds the majority stake in the bank.

The Wall Street Journal reported in early June that China will contribute US$ 29.8 billion to the AIIB, more than the combined investment of India, Russia, South Korea and Australia.

The AIIB is expected to open by the end of the year, once 10 members representing at least half of all voting rights ratify its articles of incorporation.

(Rewritten by Wang Yuqian)