The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: Multilateralism On The Silk Road

China’s first attempt to establish a multilateral financial institution was met with some suspicion and caution in the west. According to one interpretation, China is frustrated with the United States’ reluctance to cede it power at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and so is attempting to usurp the United States’ economic leadership by creating its own institutions to rival the Bretton Woods institutions, starting with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The AIIB, according to its critics, will not be a true multilateral institution committed to common objectives. Instead it will be a vehicle for China to advance its own unilateral strategic objectives in Asia at the expense of the US. Framing the AIIB in terms of rivalry between the United States (US) and the People’s Republic of China makes for a compelling narrative. It plays into strategic ambitions and suspicions on both sides of the Pacific. Undoubtedly there are Chinese policymakers who are frustrated with the United States, and want China to play a larger role in international institutions. And the rest of the world has been calling on China to play a role in the international economic community more commensurate with its weight in the global economy.