WASHINGTON: World Bank lending to countries like China that are rich enough to finance their own development hurts poor countries that need help, a senior US Treasury official said Wednesday.

David Malpass, Treasury’s Undersecretary for International Affairs, cited China as a prime example of the practice, as the World Bank’s biggest borrower with $2.4 billion in loans this year.

The Trump administration will push the World Bank to move countries towards graduation, as their economies grow and they are able to access private sources of financing, he told a House subcommittee.

“Many graduation-eligible countries, even those with strong market access, have continued to demand (World Bank) financing,” he said in prepared testimony. “Adherence to the graduation policy has progressively weakened.”

Malpass said that since 2009, countries eligible for graduation from World Bank aid have received, on average, 40 per cent of the institution’s lending.

Currently 25 countries have incomes above the graduation threshold, and six are considered high income, exceeding $12,475 per capita.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2017