ABSTRACT
The chapter reviews a contentious episode, where transatlantic partners took sharply different views on the establishment of, and Western participation in, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) under the leadership of China. The author’s assertion is that the split between the U.S.A. on AIIB membership may not be regarded as a clash or crisis between two competing visions of order but rather as an exemplary case for potential miscommunication and discoordination among the allies. Instead of using the new institution to further alliance goals, the chapter shows how an informal division of labor was reached “accidentally.”
