World Bank head: China's sustainable growth a lesson for globe

World Bank President Ajay Banga talks to the media on March 23, 2024 in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province. [Photo by Ouyang Shijia/chinadaily.com.cn]

World Bank President Ajay Banga emphasized the pivotal role of China in fostering the world's sustainable growth, saying the World Bank is taking the things it has learned from China to other countries.

China is absolutely a key contributor to the sustainable global growth, Banga said Saturday in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, during his first official visit to China since assuming the position in June.

Speaking highly of China's achievement in fighting air pollution, Banga said that is the lesson he would like to take elsewhere.

"I think that's the role China can play in many countries to show that you can do both development and cleaner (air) at the same time," he said. "So, citizens can have (not only) economic growth but also quality of life. And I think that's a very important lesson."

In 2016, the World Bank approved a $500 million loan to support the implementation of measures to help control air pollution in Hebei province, adopting the Program-for-Results lending tool, which links loan disbursements to tangible results on the ground.

"The best thing about China is they will try something in one place. They will learn, they will make whatever mistakes have to be made and learn. Once they learn, nobody is better at duplicating and replicating at scale," Banga said.

He said China is learning from its past and trying to get ahead of this, creating a better environment for its people and yet keep developing. "I think that's the learning we can take elsewhere."

Banga called on more efforts to work together to take knowledge from China and use China's examples elsewhere to promote green and sustainable growth.

"I think climate change is a crisis that does not stop at the border, we have to work together," he added.