ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK: RESTRUCTURING GLOBAL ECONOMY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Beijing's current effort to improve ties and stimulate growth and development along its geographic periphery, facilitating land-based trade across the Eurasian landmass, promoting infrastructural development and connectivity, and stimulating economic integration. These initiatives were seen as a leverage of China's growing economic power and influence in order to strengthen and expand cooperative interactions, create an integrated web of mutually beneficial economic, social and political ties, and ultimately lower distrust and enhance a sense of common security. "One Belt, One Road is a good international economic strategy, but for now it is certainly not an easy one."(i) Europe is an integral part of China's transcontinental vision, and the European Union (EU) has its own vested interests in the Belt-as the EU China Connectivity Platform demonstrates. This plan sets out a vision in which Chinese-led infrastructure construction, reduced tariffs, and simplified customs administration would allow trade to flow seamlessly between China and Europe by both rail and cargo ship.(ii) China has committed a total of about $100 billion to a trio of new infrastructure funds: $40 billion to the Central Asia-focused Silk Road Fund, $50 billion to a new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and $10 billion to the BRICS-led New Development Bank.(iii) This paper analyzes the prospective contribution of AIIB in leading the way towards sustainable economic development as it has a renewed vision of financing major projects under the umbrella of renewable energy and has strict guidelines for approval of even other projects in terms of environmental protection. We will analyze different documents obtained from AIIB's official website and other academic literature to find out how AIIB has envisioned a global economy in terms of sustainable development.