BEIJING, March 30-- U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said on Monday that the United States is looking forward to cooperating with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), as it welcomes and supports proposals that are helpful to infrastructure construction.

The cooperation can be carried out through the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialog (SED), the World Bank and the AIIB, and any other mechanisms accepted by the two countries, Lew said in his talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang earlier on Monday, according to Chinese Vice Minister of Finance Zhu Guangyao.

Zhu told Xinhua after the hour-long talks that Lew also welcomes China playing a bigger role in international economic affairs.

The meeting came ahead of the March 31 deadline for countries to apply to become founding members of the AIIB, which will aim to support infrastructure projects in Asia.