Beijing: China sounded doubtful about backing Indian-American business leader Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank, saying it is “open” to supporting “other potential candidates” based on merit.
According to reports from Washington, 63-year-old Banga, who has been nominated by US President Joe Biden to lead the Bank, is scheduled to travel to China to meet with People's Bank of China officials and ask for Beijing's endorsement of his candidature.
Asked whether China will back Banga, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing in Beijing that “we have noted the candidate nominated by the US side and are open to other potential candidates”.
He said the World Bank is the most influential multilateral development institution in the world and is of systemic importance to global poverty reduction and development. “As a major shareholder of the World Bank, China stands ready to work with all parties for an open, transparent and merit-based presidential selection process,” he said.
Banga is an Indian-American business leader who has been nominated by the US to head the World Bank, according to Biden, who stated last month that "this critical moment in history" makes him the ideal candidate to do so. Banga would be the first Indian-American and Sikh-American to lead either of the two leading international financial organizations, the IMF or the World Bank, if he were to be confirmed by the World Bank board of directors.