By offering to permit South Korea to settle its bilateral trade accounts in renminbi, and to launch the first-ever Sino-South Korean initiative toward North Korea, Xi is seeking to convince South Korea’s leaders that the country’s future, including reunification, will be determined in Beijing. China’s invitation to South Korea to participate in a new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (alongside other countries in Asia and the Arab world, but excluding Japan and India) furthers Xi’s efforts to create an alternative financial system, with the AIIB mimicking the Asia Development Bank’s work.