The World Bank said its lending would decline over the “country partnership framework” plan, in line with reforms agreed on under a US$13 billion capital increase agreed to last year. The World Bank loaned China US$1.3 billion in the fiscal 2019 year ended June 30, down from about US$2.4 billion in fiscal 2017. “Lending levels may fluctuate up and down from year to year due to normal pipeline management based on project readiness,” the World Bank said in its plan. US lawmakers are also increasingly expressing concerns that US taxpayer funds loaned through the World Bank to China will enable human rights abuses and unfair economic competition with the US. In US Senate floor remarks on Thursday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley cited alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang associated with detention camps for Muslim Uighurs in criticizing the World Bank lending plan.
