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It is de rigueur today that Chinese companies need to become more localized. At a minimum, they need to become more aware of local laws, regulations, and customs and abandon the idea they can do things like they do them at home. At the maximum, they need to hire more local workers and managers, source more goods locally, transfer technology, and become better corporate citizens, adopting meaningful corporate social responsibility programs.

“The Asianization” of the Middle East, fostered by expanding trade, energy, immigration, military and political ties between Asia—most notably, China, Japan, South Korea, India and the region—foretells a political realignment in which the Asian powers are filling the vacuum created by diminishing US and European influence. The most significant indicator of this trend is China’s expanding energy-related trade and investment links with the region, complemented by substantial increases in bilateral trade, military and political ties.

Take a look at the names of today’s well-established multilateral development banks. There are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Asian, Inter-American, Islamic and African Development Banks. Next to institutions with such a broad orientation towards “development” and “reconstruction,” the particular focus of the newly established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on one region and economic sector is atypical and unique.

During the early years of the 21st century Chinese multinational companies (MNCs) actively engaged in Latin America. An abundance of natural resources and a growing Latin American middle class fit China’s needs for essential raw materials and a growing Latin American middle class fit the Asian country’s need for overseas markets. In turn, Latin America was able to diversify export markets for its oil, copper and soybeans.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a newly created Chinese-led regional development bank, is now attracting global attention from governments, businesses, and analysts and seems to be at the center of the debate on global governance; that is, whether it should be US- or China-led in the future. The US and Japan have opted not to join this bank since its governance and objectives remain unclear and, in particular, because it is uncertain how the AIIB will cooperate (or compete) with the existing international financial institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank.