WASHINGTON – A
group of Senate Republicans today reintroduced legislation aimed at curbing
China’s access to the World Bank’s low-rate debt financing intended for
developing nations. The World Bank
Integrity Preservation Act of 2021 was authored by Sen. Chuck Grassley
(R-Iowa) and cosponsored by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.),
Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.).
“China
has been lending development money outside its borders to extend its influence
for years while taking in U.S. taxpayer dollars via World Bank loans. It’s
confounding that these loans still continue and they ought to stop,” Grassley said. “What’s worse is that
these loans might have helped free up resources used to violate human rights
and force Uighurs into internment camps. Our bills provide a short-term and
longer-term means to take away the status that allows China to receive loans
and halt loans to any country like China that exceeds the World Bank graduation
thresholds or poses a risk to religious freedom.”
“For
too long, Beijing has been allowed to exploit the World Bank’s limited
resources even though they should not qualify for assistance. I’m proud to
reintroduce this bill that would provide the U.S. Governor of the World Bank
with the necessary guidance to uphold U.S. interests and to focus on the bank’s
development mission. This bill also reaffirms America’s continued commitment to
religious freedom worldwide," Rubio
said.
“The
World Bank is sending development aid meant for poor countries to China, the
second largest economy in the world with access to plenty of capital.
The ruling Chinese Communist Party uses these loans to fund its repression of
Uighurs and other ethnic minorities. The United States must urge the World Bank
to end these loans, which are contrary to its own guidelines and the demands of
justice. Every dollar loaned to China is a dollar spent on
strengthening the CCP’s grip over the Chinese people,” Cotton
said.
“China
poses the single greatest geopolitical threat to the United States over the
next century, and they continually take advantage of the World Bank’s low-cost
lending intended for poorer countries. The Chinese Communist Party is engaged
in an ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs. They exploit international finance
for their human rights atrocities. The World Bank has also contributed to the
Belt and Road initiative, in which the Chinese Communist Party utilizes
coercive debt traps to advance their interests,” Cruz said.
“Under
no circumstances should American taxpayers be on the hook for World Bank loans
to countries actively repressing religious minorities, especially to Communist
China, which is committing genocide against Uyghur Muslims. I’m proud to join
my colleagues in this bill to protect taxpayer dollars and hold General
Secretary Xi accountable for his horrific crimes,” Scott said.
The
World Bank, which receives funding from the United States and other nations,
offers low-cost loans intended for developing or otherwise economically challenged
countries. Loan recipients are expected to reduce their loan portfolios once
they reach a certain income level known as a “graduation threshold.” China
reached this threshold in 2016, yet remains one of the Bank’s top borrowers. It
borrows about $2 billion a year despite being the world’s second-largest
economy and a major global lender itself.
In its own lending to other countries, China seeks to exert geopolitical
influence and control.
China
has also come under international scrutiny for its human rights abuses and
infringements on religious freedom. The World Bank has provided loans for
programs likely linked to its systematic persecution of Uighurs.
The World Bank Integrity Preservation Act
would direct the U.S. Executive Director at the World Bank to vote against and
use their best efforts to deny any project in a country that has reached the graduation
threshold and is listed as a Tier 1 country or on the special watch list for
religious freedom abuses under the International Religious Freedom Act.
World Bank Integrity Preservation Act of
2021
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