Newly-appointed World Bank chief Ajay Banga has decided to steer clear of the ongoing rivalry between the U.S. and China, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
The Indian-origin former CEO of Mastercard said that he does not view China as a rival in providing funds to developing countries. “I will not get tied up in knots with these rivalries…I don’t view China as a rival. You need everybody at the wheel,” Banga was quoted as saying in a recent interview.
Banga’s statement comes a day after the U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen dubbed the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as “counterweights to China”.
“Our leadership at these institutions is one of our core ways of engaging with emerging markets and developing countries. The aid serves as an important counterweight to nontransparent, unsustainable lending from others, like China,” she told a US House committee.
Banga instead said that climate change and development are bigger issues to worry than navigating tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Banga, who replaced David Malpass as the World Bank’s top boss, also batted for more private-sector involvement in fighting poverty and climate change.
The 63-year-old added he will do all he can to address the challenges faced by the developing world. The United States is the World Bank’s largest funder. Every president since its creation after World War II has been an American national.
According to a Bloomberg report, Banga’s remarks cut against the mood in Washington DC, where lawmakers and senior officials have characterised China as the most important strategic competitor of the US.
The US has been waging a global campaign to dissuade other countries, especially those that are less-developed and developing, from entering into projects with China. Instead, the world’s pre-eminent superpower has been urging the developing world to partner with the West.
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