BEIJING - China welcomed Sweden's application to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on Tuesday, hours before the deadline to join as a founding member.

As of 6 pm Tuesday, a total of 46 countries had applied to be founding members of the AIIB. Founding membership will be finalized on April 15.

Sweden will become a founding member on April 15 pending approval by existing members, according to a statement on the Finance Ministry's website.

The total number of applicants awaiting approval is now 16. The bank now has 30 prospective founding members. Switzerland and Britain were formally accepted on March 28.

The AIIB originally had 21 founders, including China, India and Singapore, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last October in Beijing.

Founding members have the right to create the governance and operating rules for the bank. Countries that join after the deadline will have voting rights only, with less say in the rule-making process.

The bank is expected to be established by the end of this year.

The IMF, World Bank and other leading global lenders have all welcomed the new bank's founding.