WB Group Board discusses new country partnership framework for China

The World Bank Group's Board of Executive Directors discussed a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for China for the period 2026–2031 on July 23.

Building on four decades of growth and change — including the lifting of more than 800 million people out of extreme poverty — China is now focused on a new phase of high-quality, productivity-led growth. The 15th Five-year Plan sets ambitious priorities: strengthening domestic demand, creating better jobs, modernizing social protection in the face of rapid population aging, and delivering on China's commitment to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060.

The FY 26-31 CPF marks a new phase in a 45-year partnership. As China's development needs have evolved, so has its relationship with the World Bank Group (WBG) — from primarily financing toward a more selective engagement built on knowledge, innovation, and mutual learning. The CPF reflects this evolution, anchoring the partnership in generating and sharing solutions relevant to the broader global development agenda and selective and targeted financing.

Liao Min, vice minister of Finance of China noted “As the largest developing country, China will continue to deepen comprehensive collaboration with the WBG, so that their partnership not only contributes to high-quality development at home but also supports other developing countries in their pursuit of shared prosperity.”

The CPF focuses on three priority areas: enabling productivity-led growth and better jobs; enhancing human capital and social protection in response to demographic change; and expanding resilient, sustainable infrastructure while protecting and restoring natural ecosystems. As lending from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) phases down, sharing China's development experience, in response to demand from other WBG countries, will include areas such as ecosystem restoration, water, and agricultural productivity that will be anchored in the WBG’s Knowledge Bank and leveraged by the China-WBG Global Center for Ecological Systems and Transitions.

“China has had a remarkable development journey over the past four decades,” said Anna Bjerde, World Bank managing director of operations. “As our partnership evolves, we are increasingly focused on knowledge, innovation, and shared solutions. As China tackles the challenges of an aging society, a shifting economy, and other development priorities, we will work alongside it to generate ideas that matter not just for China, but for emerging markets around the world.”