Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank (MDB) headquartered in Beijing. It was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2013, its Articles of Agreement were signed in June 2015, and it began operations in January 2016. Its stated purpose is to finance infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia, including energy, transport, telecommunications, water, and urban development.

The AIIB began with 57 prospective founding members and has since expanded its approved membership to more than 100 economies, making it one of the largest MDBs by membership after the World Bank. Major non-regional members include the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Canada; notable holdouts include the United States and Japan, which have raised concerns about governance and environmental standards. China is the largest shareholder, holding roughly a quarter of voting power, followed by India and Russia.

The Bank is governed by a Board of Governors, a non-resident Board of Directors, and a President. Jin Liqun, a former Chinese vice minister of finance and Asian Development Bank vice president, has served as inaugural President since 2016 and was reappointed for a second five-year term in 2021.

The AIIB has authorized capital of USD 100 billion. It co-finances many projects with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and has adopted an Environmental and Social Framework modeled on existing MDB standards.

Analysts often discuss the AIIB in the context of China's broader foreign economic statecraft, including the Belt and Road Initiative, though the Bank formally maintains it is an independent multilateral institution open to all members and not an instrument of any single state. For MUN delegates, the AIIB is frequently invoked in debates on development finance, South-South cooperation, and the reform of the international financial architecture.