The Asian Development Bank’s successor, Masatsugu Asakawa, said he was open to discussions about phasing out loans to high and medium income borrowers such as China.
Asakawa, whose role as ADB’s president will take effect in January next year, stressed that thorough discussions would be necessary before making any conclusions, a markedly different stance from incumbent head Takehiko Nakao who said in April that he continued to see value in lending to China.
«There need to be thorough discussions [among ADB members],» Asakawa said regarding how to phase out lending to high and medium-income borrowers, highlighting considerations for reasonably priced access to capital markets and stage of economic development.
On phasing out of aid to China, he noted that «it depends on how discussions unfold» in a «Reuters» report.
Soft Landing?
Aid aside, Asakawa underlined the inevitable slowdown of the Chinese economy and his hopes for a soft landing.
«Deep-rooted, structural problems have led to a gradual decline in China’s potential and real economic growth. A slowdown in Chinese growth is unavoidable,» he said.
«Given its huge size, a hard landing will have a huge impact not just on China but on the global economy. We hope China engineers an orderly soft landing. I’m sure the authorities are fully mindful of the need for that.»
Environmental Issues
He also addressed the need crucial need to tackle climate change and other environmental risks, refuting the claim that achieving such goals cannot be aligned with economic growth.
«I don’t agree with people who say economic growth and environment-friendly policies cannot coexist,» he said. «Poverty and environmental issues are intertwined. We need to find a way to address both issues.»
