New World Bank chief vows to steer clear of U.S.-China rivalry

Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg

The newly appointed president of the World Bank said he doesn't view China as a rival for the development lender and pledged to avoid getting dragged into competition between Washington and Beijing.

Ajay Banga, who was nominated by the Biden administration for a five-year term and took the helm of the lender earlier this month, said the problems of climate change and development are too pressing to worry about navigating tensions between the world's two largest economies.

"How are we going to solve all this stuff?" Banga said in an interview. "I'm going to give it my best shot, but I will not get tied up in knots with these rivalries. I just will not." 

Banga's remarks cut against the mood on Capitol Hill and at the White House, where lawmakers and senior officials have characterized China as the U.S.'s most important strategic competitor. They've also waged a global campaign to dissuade other countries from entering into development and infrastructure projects with China, urging them to partner with the US and its allies instead.

His views also contradict a vision spelled out by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who cast the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as American-aligned counterweights to China's growing influence in the developing world. Their aid "serves as an important counterweight to nontransparent, unsustainable lending from others, like China," she said.

Banga took over from David Malpass, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump and had reputation for being a China hawk. When campaigning for the World Bank job, for which he was unopposed, the former Mastercard chief executive undertook a global tour and made China one of eight countries that he visited, among meetings with almost 40 governments. 

He also said that the organization should explore ways to take on more risk for the private sector in a bid to clear a path for greater investment in the fight against poverty and climate change. 

The U.S. is the World Bank's largest source of funds, and every president since its creation after World War II has been American. Banga, 63, said he will do all he can during his term to address the challenges faced by the developing world.

"I have a granddaughter — she's 18 months old," Banga said. "In 2050, I'll be gone, she'll be here. I am petrified out of my mind.

"I don't view China as a rival," he said. said. "You need everybody at the wheel."

Banga spoke before heading off this week on a trip to Peru and Jamaica that's seeing him tour the countries with Ilan Goldfajn, head of the Inter-American Development Bank, which is focused on Latin America and the Caribbean. Goldfajn also recently said that he wants to steer clear of the global U.S.-China competition.