AIIB nears completion but China's 'global leader' status remains in question

The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank seems on track to begin full operations early next year.

This week, 50 of the bank’s founding members signed the articles of agreement formally establishing the world’s newest multilateral financial institution. Held in Beijing, where the bank’s headquarters will also be established, the ceremony wrapped up nearly two years of contentious negotiations, brainstorming and justifications over the need for a new multilateral bank to help address the region’s growing infrastructure demands. Asia-Pacific is said to need almost $800 billion in infrastructure investments annually over the next decade — an amount that even the combined resources of the world’s multilateral institutions cannot yet fill.

As expected, the international community welcomed news of the completion of AIIB’s articles of agreement. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and Asian Development Bank President Takehiko Nakao agree the Beijing-based bank is a welcome addition to the legion of institutions committed to ending poverty and uplifting people’s lives. Yet both bank chiefs have also strongly asserted the need for AIIB to adhere to international standards.