WB $35 Mln Loans to Support China’s Economic Reform

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a loan of $35 million to the People’s Republic of China to support government’s policymaking and strengthen capacity to implement priority reform areas.

Despite impressive growth in the past decades, there is a growing recognition in China of the need to change its growth pattern by deepening reforms that can address the existing social, economic, and environmental imbalances, while maintaining stable growth.TheEconomic Transformation and Institutional Capacity Bridling Projectis designed to inform policymaking for effective reforms and to strengthen its institutions as China enters its next phase of reform and growth.

“The World Bank has been actively involved in China’s economic reforms since the early 1980s.This project is the sixth of a series of ourtechnical cooperation projects here,” said Chorching Goh, the World Bank’s Lead Economist for Chinaand task team leader of theproject. “We hope that the project’s work would help provide the knowledge base to influence China’s development and growth trajectory which will affect not just China but the rest of the world. Lessons from experiments and pilots in China can also be gainfully shared withother countries.”

The project will produce analytical outputs in the form ofsectoral research, technical studies,and topical reports. Six thematic areas will be prioritiesanticipated in China’s development includingfiscal and financial reform, economic restructuring, rural and urban integration, green economy, the national innovation system, and delivery public services including education, healthcare, and social welfare.In addition, implementation support, project management and capacity building activities will be carried out,including training and knowledge sharing. The project is expected to be implemented over a five-year period.