IMF spring summit: the same meetings, but different times

The International Monetary Fund's annual get-together comes as the new China-led infrastructure bank AIIB underlines the global shift in the balance of power

Finance ministers and central bankers from more than 100 countries will gather at the International Monetary Fund in Washington next week amid a diplomatic spat over China's plans for a rival financial institution.

The IMF's regular get-togethers of policymakers, held jointly with the World Bank, have been a fixture on economists' calendars since the birth of the so-called Bretton Woods institutions after the second world war.