The Western-backed Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) are talking a lot about moving ‘from billions to trillions’ of dollars to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Paris Climate Agreement that aim to shift the world economy to a low-carbon and more socially inclusive and equitable future.
The MDBs talk the talk but do not walk the walk given that they have not increased their paid-in capital to meet the ambitious goals of the SDGs. By contrast, China’s development banks have been doing the walking—but not quite in the right direction. As it hosts the G-20 in September, China is poised to match words and action on sustainable development.
According to new estimates, China’s two policy banks, the China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export Import Bank of China (CHEXIM), have doubled the amount of overseas financing to developing countries since 2007 — to roughly $684bn versus close to $700bn by the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, African Development Bank, and the Asian Development Bank combined.