BEIJING, July 17 -- China's central bank has said that the BRICS development bank and the contingent reserve arrangement (CRA) are to be mutually independent with separate tasks.

The BRICS development bank will focus on long-term financing for infrastructure in developing countries, while the CRA will provide short-term financial assistance to BRICS members when they face balance of payments pressure, according to a Thursday press release from the People's Bank of China.

Founding members of the New Development Bank, as it will be called, will subscribe equally to the bank's start-up fund of 50 billion U.S. dollars. Member countries will substantiate the contributions when the bank is formally launched.

In comparison, the CRA offers support through liquidity and precautionary instruments, in response to actual or potential pressure. Individual commitments to the CRA vary, with 41 billion U.S. dollars from China, 18 billion dollars each from Brazil, Russia and India, and 5 billion dollars from South Africa. The contributions determine members' voting power in the CRA.

The development bank and the CRA indicate strategic trust among the members, which will deepen cooperation and fortify their interests as a whole, according to the press release.