"US Proposes Bill to Ban World Bank Loans to Curb China"

Several bills aimed at curbing China, including banning World Bank (WB) loans to China, have been consecutively introduced in the U.S. Congress.

Republican Senator John Barrasso announced on the 23rd (local time) that he has introduced a bill to prohibit loans to China from multilateral development banks such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The bill essentially requires the Treasury Department to instruct U.S. representatives at multilateral development banks to oppose any new loans, extensions of existing loans, or technical assistance to China from these banks.

Senator Barrasso stated, "Since 2016, when China exceeded the loan eligibility criteria, the World Bank has approved $9.6 billion worth of projects for China. The Asian Development Bank provided loans totaling $10.6 billion during the same period," adding, "China, the world's second-largest economy, is benefiting from loans from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, which are primarily supported by U.S. taxpayers."

Earlier, Republican Senator Josh Hawley also introduced a bill on the 21st to suspend the so-called Most Favored Nation (MFN) status for China. In a press release at the time, he said, "As we face a new era of competition with China, we need an agenda that makes our working class strong and independent," and added, "That start could be canceling the sweet deal that Washington DC elites gave to China 23 years ago."

If the Most Favored Nation status, known in the U.S. as Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR), is revoked, U.S. tariffs on Chinese products would significantly increase. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), an advisory body to Congress, also recommended in a report last November that Congress investigate whether China is complying with the 1999 U.S.-China Market Access Agreement and, if not, pursue legislation to revoke China's PNTR status.