According to Reuters, China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has deployed $67 billion across 345 projects in 39 countries since its 2016 launch, defying early warnings that it would serve as Beijing’s diplomatic tool. The $100 billion capitalised bank has earned a triple-A credit rating while 67% of its lending supports climate adaptation, funding everything from Uzbek solar plants to Indian rail corridors. Despite U.S. and Japan declining to join, 110 shareholders including major European economies have made AIIB the world’s second-largest multilateral lender by membership. New president Zou Jiayi takes over on January 16, inheriting an institution that plans to deploy another $75 billion by 2030 while navigating shifting global priorities.
Defying expectations
Remember when Washington warned this would just be China‘s diplomatic weapon? Yeah, that didn’t exactly pan out. The AIIB has actually positioned itself as the “good cop” compared to China’s other development banks. While the China Development Bank and Export-Import Bank have committed over $470 billion in overseas finance through the controversial Belt and Road Initiative, AIIB plays by different rules. It suspended Russia activities after the Ukraine invasion—directly contradicting Beijing’s usual stance. And it’s been pushing for multilateral lenders to keep preferred creditor status in debt restructurings, which basically tells Chinese banks they might need to take bigger losses. That’s not exactly falling in line with Beijing’s playbook.
The partnership play
Here’s the thing that really made AIIB work: instead of competing with existing institutions, it partnered with them. Half its financing happens alongside the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. That’s smart—it reduces due diligence work, shares risk on massive infrastructure projects, and most importantly, builds trust. The bank even managed to bridge the India-China divide, which is no small feat given their border clashes and investment barriers. India remains both the second-largest shareholder AND the biggest beneficiary. That’s some serious geopolitical gymnastics.
The new challenge
Now comes the tricky part. The U.S. Treasury under Scott Bessent is pushing the World Bank to drop its 45% climate financing target and focus more on broader energy security. If that actually changes what these banks fund—not just how they talk about it—AIIB’s collaboration space shrinks. Multilateral banks aren’t suddenly going to finance coal mines, but nuclear energy? That’s becoming a real possibility. The World Bank already lifted its nuclear financing ban, and with Asia facing a $43 trillion infrastructure gap, the pressure is on to find solutions that balance climate goals with skyrocketing electricity demands from AI and development needs.
Lean, clean, and stuck in between
Zou Jiayi’s background is fascinating—former vice finance minister and anti-corruption official that Chinese media calls a “tiger fighting lady general.” She’s got the multilateral experience and the political chops. But her real test will be maintaining AIIB’s credibility as the world gets more divided. The bank succeeded by working with the global financial order, not against it. Can it keep that balance when climate goals clash with energy security demands? If AIIB stays its course, it might not just complement the World Bank—it could help redefine what global development looks like in an increasingly fragmented world. Basically, the experiment that proved China could play by international rules now has to prove it can keep playing when the rules are changing.
