The World Bank welcomes another Chinese executive!
According to the website of the Ministry of Finance, on February 20, 2024, Washington time, the World Bank announced the appointment of Zhang Wencai as the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank. He is responsible for institutional strategy, planning, budget, information technology services and sanctions system.
Zhang Wencai is currently a member of the Party Committee and Vice President of the Export Import Bank of China, and the trustee of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation. Public data shows that he entered the World Bank Department of the Ministry of Finance as early as July 1989 after graduating from the master's degree. In November 1993, he served as the assistant executive director of China to the World Bank, and has rich experience in relevant international affairs.
Zhang Wencai Becomes Executive Vice President of the World Bank
Previously, Zhang Wencai had served as the Vice President of the Agricultural Development Bank of China, the Vice President of the Asian Development Bank, the Director of the Department of International Financial Cooperation of the Ministry of Finance of China, and had rich experience in the field of development.
According to public data, Zhang Wenchai has been a member of the Party Committee and Vice President of the Export Import Bank of China since May 2022. Previously, he was a member of the Party Committee and Vice President of the Agricultural Development Bank of China in June 2020.
Earlier, Zhang Wencai's main work experience was concentrated in the Ministry of Finance, the Asian Development Bank and other departments. In July 1989, after graduating from Nankai University as a master's student, Zhang Wencai joined the World Bank Department of the Ministry of Finance. In November 1993, he served as the assistant to the executive director of China in the World Bank. Since September 1997, he has successively served as the deputy director of the Agriculture Department of the World Bank Department of the Ministry of Finance, the deputy director of the Loan Planning Department of the International Department, the deputy director of the Technical Assistance and Intelligence Introduction Department, and so on.
In July 2004, Zhang Wencai was appointed as Deputy Director of the International Department of the Ministry of Finance, and in March 2007, he was appointed as Deputy Director of the International Department of the Ministry of Finance and Executive Director of the Asian Development Bank in China. In October 2013, Zhang Wencai served as the Vice President of the Asian Development Bank; in December 2018, he served as the Director of the Department of International Financial Cooperation of the Ministry of Finance; and since January 2019, he has successively served as the Deputy Director of IFAD in China, the Director of New Development Bank and the Director of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in China.
The Chinese reporter of the securities firm learned from the official website of the Export Import Bank of China that in January this year, Zhang Wencai was invited to attend the seminar of economic and financial counselors of EU member states in China, delivered a keynote speech around the theme of "China EU cooperation and common development", and introduced the experience and practice of the Export Import Bank in promoting international economic cooperation, deepening China EU economic and trade relations, and promoting diversified growth of developing countries, And exchanged views with the participants on how to expand multilateral and bilateral financing channels, strengthen international economic and financial policy coordination, and promote regional and global sustainable development.
Last October, Zhang Wencai led a delegation to Morocco and Cote d'Ivoire to attend the 2023 autumn annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. During this period, we held high-level talks with multilateral and bilateral institutions, met with government officials of relevant countries and our ambassadors in the two countries, discussed with local Chinese enterprises and the Export Import Bank's North West Africa Representative Office, and investigated relevant projects of the Bank in C ô te d'Ivoire.
Previously, Zhang Wencai attended the 9th China and Globalization Forum, and in his speech on the current global economic situation and challenges, he pointed out five specific measures to promote sustainable development of the global economy. First, practice multilateralism and promote the reform and improvement of the global governance system; Second, adhere to open cooperation and promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation; Third, adhere to a multi pronged approach and focus on alleviating the development financing gap; Fourth, enhance policy synergy and reduce spillover effects on developing countries; Fifth, uphold an objective position and promote debt disposal of relevant countries.
Many Chinese have held important positions in the World Bank
In fact, before that, the World Bank had many Chinese people holding important positions.
Prior to Zhang Wencai, Yang Shaolin served as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank Group since February 2016, responsible for many important functions of the institution, including budget and strategic planning, information technology, institutional security, sanctions system and internal justice system.
In addition, in February 2023, Chen Guangzhe also took the post of Vice President of the World Bank, mainly responsible for the field of infrastructure construction. In this position, he will be committed to building infrastructure for sustainable development in developing countries and emerging economies, while assisting in supporting major strategic development of the World Bank, such as actions taken to address global climate change. Before serving as the Vice President of the World Bank, Chen Guangzhe served successively as the Senior Director of the World Bank's Transportation Practice Bureau, the Senior Director of the World Bank's Global Water Authority, the Director of the World Bank's Ethiopian National Bureau, and the Director of the Southern Africa Regional Bureau.
In addition, the people who once held important positions in the World Bank in China include Zhang Shengman, who became the Executive Vice President of the World Bank in 2001; Lin Yifu, a famous Chinese economist, was officially appointed as the Chief Economist of the World Bank and Senior Vice President in charge of Development Economics in 2008; Cai Jinyong, Executive Vice President and CEO of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank since 2012, and others.
Founded in 1945, the World Bank is the largest multilateral development institution in the world. Its mission is to eradicate absolute poverty and promote shared prosperity on a livable planet. Its headquarters are in Washington, USA.
It is understood that since China resumed its legal seat in the World Bank in 1980, the two sides have maintained good cooperative relations. As the third largest shareholder of the World Bank, China actively supports the World Bank in strengthening its development purpose and institutional capacity through reform to help developing countries cope with global challenges and achieve the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Checked by: Liao Shengchao
