WB chief says China's success, challenges in poverty reduction significant

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said one of his key aims in his visit to China is to learn about that country's successes and challenges in large-scale poverty reduction, and he is looking forward to hear more from Chinese people about their own aspirations.

The bank chief said China has brought more than 400 million people above the one-dollar-a-day poverty line over the past two decades alone, a remarkable achievement. Its challenges are equally as significant. China is still home to 18 percent of the world's poor, and the gap between the rich and poor has been widening over the last two decades.

"China clearly has come a long way. It is now more than just a country that has been successful in expanding its economy and reducing poverty. It is a major global economic force," Wolfowitz said.

"I am looking forward to seeing what the world - and particularly countries in Africa -- can learn from China - and also to hear more from Chinese people about their own aspirations."

Wolfowitz is embarking on a two-week trip, which will include two of the World Bank's largest (developing) country borrowers, China and Russia, as well as the major donor countries of Japan, Sweden, and Finland.

This is his first visit to these countries since taking office.

Starting the trip in Tokyo, Wolfowitz will be meeting with key Japanese officials to discuss the creation of a new intellectual partnership with Japan to share experience, knowledge, ideas and innovation to generate growth and reduce poverty, the bank said in a statement.

"Japan is increasingly focusing on the world beyond Asia, and agencies like the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the world's largest bilateral donor, will be critical to that effort.

"I hope that we will be able to make some headway on ways we can cooperate more closely on some bold actions to provide hope and opportunity for people around the world, especially in Africa."

From Tokyo, Wolfowitz will travel to China's rural Gansu province in the western region and then go on to Beijing and the surrounding areas where he will meet with government officials, civil society and women's groups, and attend the G20 meeting.

Wolfowitz will also be meeting with finance ministers and central bankers from around the world at the G20 meeting outside Beijing on Oct. 15th. Among the issues on the agenda are global imbalances, migration, and reforms at the Bretton Woods institutions.

In Russia, Wolfowitz will be meeting with President Putin, members of his government and representatives of civil society. His trip will focus on the country's role in the global economy and its contribution to development as it prepares to chair the G8 next year.

He will then proceed to Stockholm and Helsinki, where he will meet with central bank governors from the Nordic and Baltic states and hold talks with parliamentarians from around the world who are members of the Parliamentary Network of the World Bank.

Source: Xinhua