DiscoverThe China-Global South PodcastChina's Evolution from "Rules Taker" to "Rules Maker" in Development Finance
China's Evolution from "Rules Taker" to "Rules Maker" in Development Finance

China's Evolution from "Rules Taker" to "Rules Maker" in Development Finance

Update: 2025-11-03
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As China's economic influence expands, so does its ambition to shape the very system that once constrained it.

In this episode of The China-Global South PodcastEric speaks with Greg Chin and Kevin Gallagher from Boston University's Global Development Policy Center about their new book that details China's transformation from a "rules taker" within the Bretton Woods system to a "rules maker" who's now reshaping the international development finance architecture.

Greg and Kevin explore the country's growing role in the IMF and World Bank, its creation of new institutions like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB), and what this means for developing nations navigating between Western and Chinese-led finance.

CHAPTERS:

Introduction – A brief calm in U.S.–China tensions
Rule Taker → Rule Maker – China's rise inside global finance
Building Alternatives – Creating the AIIB and NDB
Two-Way Countervailing Power – Leveraging inside–outside influence
Green Finance and "Next Practices" – Raising the bar on development norms
Debt and Diplomacy – How China handles restructuring
Institutional Layering – Shaping without dismantling
Washington's Dilemma – Anxiety over losing control
The Global South's New Agency – More options, more leverage
A New Multilateral Moment – Uncertain future for global governance

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China's Evolution from "Rules Taker" to "Rules Maker" in Development Finance

China's Evolution from "Rules Taker" to "Rules Maker" in Development Finance

The China-Global South Project