The decision of dozens of countries to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, sometimes referred to as China's World Bank, is one of the biggest geopolitical stories of the past year.

The bank is intended to be a massive source of investment funds for developing Asia, but it's also a Chinese attempt to take a seat at the top table of international relations — Beijing wants its own version of the US- and Europe-dominated global institutions created after World War II.

The New York Times has published a fascinating piece on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, digging into some of the diplomatic dramas that it has already caused.

The split between the usually close US and UK governments was one of the main disputes that caught headlines earlier this year. The UK decided to apply to join the AIIB board despite American opposition, and a White House official slammed the UK's "constant accommodation" of the Chinese government.

The president-designate of the AIIB, Jin Liqun, spoke with The Times and explained how important the British decision to join the Chinese scheme was — comparing it to Ancient Britain refusing to pay tribute to the Roman Empire in William Shakespeare's "Cymbeline."

Here's the kicker:

For China, British membership in the bank was a defining moment. Back in Beijing, Mr. Jin reached for his copy of Shakespeare's drama "Cymbeline."

The play takes place in Roman-occupied Britain and part of the action revolves around the British refusal to pay tribute. Mr. Jin read two lines by the character Cloten, who tells the Roman ambassador: "Britain's a world by itself. We will nothing pay for wearing our own noses."

Mr. Jin realized that just as ancient Britain had refused to pay Rome in an earlier age, contemporary Britain had defied the United States and joined the Chinese bank.