MCDF: A New Beacon of Multilateralism in Development Finance

The Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) is an infant but prospectively important initiative in international development finance, initiated by China at the inaugural Belt and Road Forum in 2017, and now endorsed by eight leading international development banks worldwide. The MCDF is expected to work closely with global agendas such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), as well as with other peer institutions including the Global Infrastructure Connectivity Alliance (GICA), the Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub), and the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF), in pursuing their shared goals of promoting infrastructure and connectivity investment. This article endeavors to investigate some key institutional matters for the development of the MCDF; they are the structure of its Secretariat, the funding mechanism, and the designated functions. Along the spectrum of hardening soft law, the MCDF is expected to evolve as an independent international body, to be equipped with a charter as its constituent instrument. The prospect of China's role in the MCDF is predicated upon the understanding of Chinese culture and China's approach toward global governance, which has been consistently demonstrated during the development of the AIIB and the BRI. China will play a leadership role in the MCDF, while behaving responsibly to other participants, including to borrower countries.