I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5051 

To increase transparency and accountability with respect to World Bank 

lending for China, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 12, 2019 

Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To increase transparency and accountability with respect to 

World Bank lending for China, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accountability for 

5 World Bank Loans to China Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) Possessing more than $3,000,000,000,000 

9 in foreign exchange reserves, the People’s Republic 

10 of China has devoted state resources to establish the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HR 5051 IH

1 Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the New De2 velopment Bank, and activities under the Belt and 

3 Road Initiative, potentially creating rivals to the 

4 multilateral development banks led by the United 

5 States and its allies. 

6 (2) The International Bank for Reconstruction 

7 and Development (IBRD), the World Bank’s pri8 mary financing institution for middle-income coun9 tries, ceases to finance (‘‘graduates’’) countries that 

10 are able to sustain long-term development without 

11 recourse to Bank resources. 

12 (3) The IBRD examines a country’s potential 

13 graduation when the country reaches the Graduation 

14 Discussion Income (GDI), which amounts to a Gross 

15 National Income (GNI) per capita of $6,975. 

16 (4) The World Bank calculates China’s GNI 

17 per capita as equivalent to $9,470. 

18 (5) According to the Center for Global Develop19 ment, China has received $7,800,000,000 in IBRD 

20 commitments since crossing the GDI threshold in 

21 2016. 

22 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR GRADUATION OF 

23 CHINA FROM WORLD BANK ASSISTANCE. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Governor of 

25 the International Bank for Reconstruction and DevelopVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:25 Nov 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HR 5051 IH

1 ment (IBRD) shall instruct the United States Executive 

2 Director at the IBRD that it is the policy of the United 

3 States to pursue the expeditious graduation of the Peo4 ple’s Republic of China from assistance by the IBRD, con5 sistent with the lending eligibility criteria of the IBRD. 

6 (b) SUNSET.—Subsection (a) shall have no force or 

7 effect on or after the earlier of— 

8 (1) the date that is 7 years after the date of the 

9 enactment of this Act; or 

10 (2) the date that the Secretary of the Treasury 

11 reports to the Committee on Financial Services of 

12 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

13 Foreign Relations of the Senate that termination of 

14 subsection (a) is important to the national interest 

15 of the United States, with a detailed explanation of 

16 the reasons therefor. 

17 SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR WORLD BANK LOANS TO THE 

18 PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Before contributing on behalf of 

20 the United States to the nineteenth replenishment of the 

21 resources of the International Development Association (in 

22 this section referred to as the ‘‘Association’’), the United 

23 States Governor of the Association, shall submit the report 

24 described in subsection (b) to the Committee on Financial 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HR 5051 IH

1 Services of the House of Representatives and the Com2 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

3 (b) REPORT DESCRIBED.—The report described in 

4 this subsection shall include the following: 

5 (1) A detailed description of the efforts of the 

6 United States Governor of the Association and the 

7 United States Governor of the International Bank 

8 for Reconstruction and Development (in this section 

9 referred to as the ‘‘IBRD’’) to enforce the timely 

10 graduation of countries from the International De11 velopment Association and the IBRD, with a par12 ticular focus on the efforts with regard to the Peo13 ple’s Republic of China. 

14 (2) If the People’s Republic of China is a mem15 ber country of the IBRD, an explanation of any eco16 nomic or political factors that have prevented the 

17 graduation of the People’s Republic of China from 

18 the IBRD. 

19 (3) A discussion of any effects resulting from 

20 fungibility and IBRD lending to China, including 

21 the potential for IBRD lending to allow for funding 

22 by the government of the People’s Republic of China 

23 of activities that may be inconsistent with the na24 tional interest of the United States. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HR 5051 IH

1 (4) An action plan to help ensure that the Peo2 ple’s Republic of China graduates from the IBRD 

3 within 2 years after submission of the report, con4 sistent with the lending eligibility criteria of the 

5 IBRD. 

6 (c) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT THAT REPORT IN7 CLUDE ACTION PLAN.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

8 may waive the requirement of subsection (b)(4) on report9 ing to the Committee on Financial Services of the House 

10 of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Rela11 tions of the Senate that the waiver is important to the 

12 national interest of the United States, with a detailed ex13 planation of the reasons therefor. 

14 SEC. 5. ENSURING DEBT TRANSPARENCY WITH RESPECT 

15 TO THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE. 

16 Within 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

17 this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to 

18 the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep19 resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

20 the Senate a report that includes the following: 

21 (1) An analysis of debt management assistance 

22 provided by the World Bank, the International Mon23 etary Fund, and the Office of Technical Assistance 

24 of the Department of the Treasury to borrowing 

25 countries of the Belt and Road Initiative of the PeoVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:25 Nov 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5051.IH H5051

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HR 5051 IH

1 ple’s Republic of China (or any comparable initiative 

2 or successor initiative of China). 

3 (2) A discussion of United States efforts at the 

4 World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and 

5 any other international financial institution to pro6 mote debt transparency with respect to credit pro7 vided by China. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS