China said Tuesday it was not aware that it had reportedly rebuffed North Korea's intention to join a Chinese-led infrastructure bank because of its fragile economy.

China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comments in response to a published report by a British financial news website, Emerging Markets, that China refused the possible entry of North Korea to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

"I am not aware of that," Hua replied, when asked about the report.

However, Hua repeated that the Chinese-led AIIB would welcome "all parties," without specifying North Korea by name.

"We welcome the participation of all parties to jointly promote the infrastructure building in Asia," Hua said.

A senior North Korean envoy met with Jin Liqun, an interim head of the AIIB, in Beijing in February during which the North expressed its intention to join the Chinese-led bank, Emerging Markets reported on its website, citing a Chinese diplomatic source.

However, China's message to North Korea was "no way," according to the report, because the North failed to provide a "far more detailed breakdown of North Korea's financial and economic picture."

So far, more than 40 countries, including South Korea, have applied to join the AIIB, widely viewed as a potential counterbalance to U.S.-led multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

The U.S. has expressed concerns over the Chinese-led bank's governance structure and decision-making process.

Tuesday is the deadline set by China for interested parties to become founding members of the AIIB and Japan, which holds the presidency of the ADB, said it has no plan to join the Chinese-led bank as of now.

Asked about the Japanese stance, Hua replied, "The AIIB is an open and inclusive multilateral institution."

China has offered US$50 billion to the bank, which is expected to start operations by the end of this year, with other member countries expecting to increase the total funding to $100 billion. (Yonhap)