October 23, 2014
Making Bank
Later this week, the Chinese government will convene a multilateral meeting in Beijing that is either an act of enlightened global leadership or a not-so-subtle effort to undermine and supplant the Western-led international order.
The issue at stake is China's efforts to create the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a multilateral lending institution charged with providing much-needed upgrades to the region's communications, energy, and transportation networks. With China set to provide half of the initial $50 billion, the remaining funds are slated to come from Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. Officials from at least 20 founding members are expected to gather in Beijing on Oct. 24 for a signing ceremony to establish the organization, which will be followed by negotiations at a later date to hammer out rules for how the institution will actually function.
Read the full article at Foreign Policy.