Japan indirectly urged China on Monday to "graduate from" World Bank loans for development because it now has stable access to capital markets and extends credit to lower income countries, most notably in Africa in exchange for natural resources.
"Some MICs (middle-income countries) that have been borrowers from the (World Bank) are now getting positioned as lenders and donors to other lower income countries," Senior Vice Finance Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said in apparent reference to China. "We strongly urge them to act as responsible members of the international community by collaborating with other lenders and donors and respecting internationally agreed frameworks.
"Increased transparency of assistance on the part of the emerging donors is also important," Akaba said during a one-day meeting in Singapore of the Development Committee, a joint development policy panel of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Delegates said his remarks were apparently targeting China and the 24-member committee -- chaired by Colombian Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla -- shared the concern. World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz and IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato were among other participants.