China Downplays World Bank Lending Phase-Out Reports

Beijing has downplayed reports that the World Bank will phase out lending to China by 2031, with the Ministry of Finance noting that the nation’s advancing economy and changing development needs were shifting cooperation away from financing and towards knowledge sharing.

“This is the natural result of changing domestic needs and the transformation of bilateral cooperation,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, referring to the World Bank’s declining lending to China in recent years.

Responding to reports that the World Bank would cap sovereign lending to China at US$2 billion for the 2026-2031 period before ending it altogether, the ministry noted that the decline aligned with international trends in how the lender’s partnerships with member countries have evolved.

Looking ahead, Beijing will “place greater emphasis on knowledge cooperation” while continuing to work with the lender on global challenges and advancing development in emerging countries, the statement said.

The reported phase-out follows years of pressure from Washington on multilateral development banks to reduce lending to China. World Bank officials characterised the shift as “a new phase” in the lender’s relationship with China that reflected the country’s significant economic development, according to Reuters.

The World Bank’s decision drew praise from the chairman of the US House Committee on Financial Services, French Hill, who said he was “pleased to see the World Bank take long-overdue steps to restore common-sense policies”.

“As the world’s largest official creditor, China should not benefit from development financing intended for countries in greater need,” Hill said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that he hoped the Asian Development Bank would “quickly follow suit”.