China’s dissociation from the global financial architecture represents a case of alternative institution building.

Time and again the People’s Republic has voiced its criticism of the existing order and demanded institutional adjustments that would lead to better Chinese representation and a fairer distribution of power.

Since these calls for reform remained largely unheeded, China co-founded two international banks, the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) while remaining a member of the institutions of the World Bank and the IMF. The new banks have been viewed particularly by the US as tools to enhance Chinese institutional influence and as competitors of key institutions of the post-war liberal order. 

At the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Dr. Sinan Chu will explore how this process of dissociation influences the US-Chinese relationship and contributes to the tensions between the two rivals.