ADB to Discuss Ending Loans to China Following Demand by U.S., ADB President Says

By Takashi Itoda / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

16:24 JST, May 4, 2025

MILAN — The Asian Development Bank will discuss whether to end loans to China, following a recent demand by the U.S. administration, ADB President Masato Kanda has said.

China holds a 6.4% stake in the ADB while also receiving loans from it.

In April, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a meeting with Kanda in the United States urged the ADB chief to “take concrete steps toward putting China on a clear path to graduation from ADB borrowing.”

Speaking in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun in Milan on Friday, Kanda said the ADB “will discuss” ending loans to China as demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Trump administration appears to find it inappropriate for China, now an economic superpower, to receive loans from the ADB, which exists to support developing countries.

Stressing that “nothing has been decided yet,” Kanda expressed the view that a consensus among donor countries, including the United States and China, would be necessary to end the loans.

The interview was held ahead of the ADB’s annual meeting, which is slated to take place in the Italian city from Sunday to Wednesday.