MEXICO CITY, March 19 (Xinhua) -- China has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), marking a substantial step forward in its entry talks with the organization, reports from Guatemala City said on Monday.

By signing the document, inked by Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China and IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno in Guatemala City on Sunday, a formal framework was established for China's accession negotiations with the organization.

China first submitted its entry application to the group in 1993, and renewed it in 2004.

According to an IDB statement, both sides agreed to speed up the negotiating process. If the negotiations proceed smoothly, China would become the organization's 48th member, the statement added.

The IDB, terming itself as the world's oldest and largest regional development bank, was founded in 1959 to promote economic and social development.

The organization, headquartered in Washington, was originally a partnership between 19 Latin American countries and the United States. It has gradually expanded its membership to include some Caribbean, European and Asian countries over the past years.