Dozens of countries from Europe to the Middle East to Africa have joined the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), including US allies, the UK and Germany.
The so-called Bretton Woods institutions — the IMF, the World Bank and, to some extent, the World Trade Organization, that have been in place since the end of World War II, reflect a world economic order dominated by the United States.
Despite their 188-strong membership, both the IMF and the World Bank continued to be managed mostly by the United States and western European countries — Britain, Germany, and France. The United States is the largest shareholder in the IMF, contributing approximately $65 billion.
Now the AIIB may take that US influence away, and may affect geo-political governance as a result of loans given to countries by US-influenced banking institutions like the IMF, World bank.