In January 2016, the newly established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) started its operations. Supposed by media and academics to be partly a reaction to an unsatisfying international...Show moreIn January 2016, the newly established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) started its operations. Supposed by media and academics to be partly a reaction to an unsatisfying international financial system, the emergence of this bank - which is still ongoing - has incited heated debate about the intentions behind its founding. One point of concern for more conservative analysts is the effect of its emergence on Sino-Japanese relations. Is the AIIB aiming at changing these relations and in what way does it or does it not? This thesis argues that concerns over a supposed hidden agenda or over supposed structural changes in China's foreign relations are not completely reasonable. The way in which the AIIB has been presenting itself to the world in its first operational year does not confirm worries among media and academics so far. Consequently, based on its first operational year of extensive cooperation with other development banks, the AIIB seems to be an institution that is rather conducive than detrimental to global development, also to the extent of Sino-Japanese relations.Show less
