Is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's assistance to Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) member states revisionist and status quo?

This paper examines whether China’s assistance to Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states through the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) reflects a revisionist strategy that seeks to reshape the international order or a status quo approach that reinforces the existing global system. By applying international relations theories of revisionism and status quo, and analyzing AIIB-financed infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan, the study finds that China’s approach exhibits dual characteristics. On the one hand, China uses the AIIB to enhance its influence in global financial governance, thereby challenging the dominance of Western-led institutions such as the World Bank. On the other hand, China engages in multilateral cooperation and adheres to international norms in project implementation, suggesting a status quo orientation. The paper argues that China’s global strategy through the AIIB is flexible and multifaceted, reflecting a complex posture in the evolving landscape of global governance.