Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank at 10: Legal Innovation in Multilateral Development Banks

When the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was launched in 2016, many wondered how this new multilateral development bank (MDB) would be different. China was its leading proponent and continues as its largest shareholder; developing countries in Asia and around the world have substantial stakes, as does Europe.

Ten years later, AIIB’s founding lawyer takes a look at AIIB in the context of MDB genealogy. Natalie Lichtenstein's new research spans the early twentieth century roots of the World Bank Charter through the mid-century development of the principal regional MDBs. How does AIIB’s twenty-first century charter reflect its heritage, and what new features were added? This talk will discuss these questions and more. The talk is based on the newly published second edition of Lichtenstein's book, A Comparative Guide to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (November 2025).

This is event is co-sponsored by Georgetown University’s Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues and Asian Studies Program in the School of Foreign Service.

Featuring

Natalie Lichtenstein was inaugural general counsel at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the principal drafter for the AIIB Charter. A former assistant general counsel at the World Bank, her 30-year legal career there spanned lending operations in Asia and senior positions in institutional governance. At the United States Treasury Department in the 1970s, she worked on development banks and the normalization of U.S.-China relations. She taught Chinese Law and Society at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies for many years and remains a fellow at the China Research Center. She received an A.B. summa cum laude in East Asian Studies from Harvard University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.