Natalie Lichtenstein Gives Lecture on Establishment of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank

On Wednesday, March 1, the Paul Tsai China Center hosted Natalie Lichtenstein, the inaugural General Counsel at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Ms. Lichtenstein, who previously served as AIIB’s Chief Counsel, delivered a talk to students and faculty on the establishment of AIIB and discussed her role as the principal drafter for the AIIB Charter.

Ms. Lichtenstein is a leading expert on international financial institutions and China’s legal development. Prior to AIIB, Ms. Lichtenstein spent three decades working for the World Bank, where she was Chief Counsel for East Asia and held a number of other senior positions. Early on in her career, Ms. Lichtenstein worked on the normalization of U.S.-China relations at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

After an introduction by Jamie Horsley, the Paul Tsai China Center’s former Executive Director, Ms. Lichtenstein began her remarks with a discussion of her involvement in the establishment of AIIB. She then gave an overview of the legal structure of multinational development banks (MDBs), including aspects of their financial operations and decision-making mechanism. Drawing on her 30-year experience at the World Bank, Ms. Lichtenstein offered a nuanced examination of the similarities and differences between AIIB and several other MDBs, providing rich context for understanding the various key elements of AIIB. She concluded the talk by sharing insights into the legal innovations in the AIIB Charter and expressing confidence in AIIB’s continued success.