China at the United Nations, in the World Trade Organization and in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

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China at the United Nations, in the World Trade Organization and in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

Background

The United Nations list of Member States records China (the People's Republic of) with a date of admission of 24-10-1945, the year the Organization itself came into being.
The Security Council is composed of 15 Members.
Its five permanent members are China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States; the ten non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly.
China became the 143rd WTO Member in December 2001, at the end of a long accession negotiation.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a multilateral development bank, began operations in Beijing in 2016 with 57 founding Members.

UN date of admission: 24-10-1945 Security Council: 15 Members, five of them permanent WTO accession: the 143rd Member, December 2001 AIIB: began operations in Beijing in 2016 with 57 founding Members

Why it matters for exams: Membership and seniority in the big multilateral bodies is asked directly, and the serial number of a WTO accession is the kind of detail that separates candidates.

Kerala PSCUPSC

6 October 2026 Source: United Nations Security Council

In plain words

Permanent member — One of the five states that hold a seat on the UN Security Council without being elected to it.

Accession — The process by which a state that did not help found an organisation negotiates its entry.

AIIB Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank — A multilateral development bank for infrastructure, with its headquarters in Beijing.