Announcement of Statement by World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz on Arrival in China on October 12, 2005

Statement by World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz on Arrival in China October 12, 2005 I am delighted to be in China and especially glad to be here in Lanzhou, and to have a chance to see for myself son of the projects and processes the Chinese have enployed to reduce poverty so dramatically in such a short tine. In the span of a few decades, East Asia has experienced the greatest increase in wealth for the largest nunber ofpeople in the shortest tine in the history of mankind. It is an incredible fact, and of course, without this growth in China, it wouldn't have happened. Since 1980, China accounted for 75 percent of poverty reduction in the developing world. Over the years, China has been a large borrower from the World Bank, and is increasingly transitioning from borrower to donor. As its role changes, so its relationship with the Bank will change. I intend to use this visit to achieve two main objectives: First, I want to learn mre about China's economic growth and poverty reduction We know that when China started its reform process, its GDP per capita was armng the lowest in the world-on the level ofIndia or Pakistan-but with growth of around 6 percent a year, it now has incon levels surpassing both ofthose countries. Since the beginning of econonic refom, China has lifted rmre than 400 million people out ofpoverty. How did China do it? I want the World Bank to be able to do rmre to help other countries learn too, so that elsewhere in the world we can see rmre progress ade to inprove the lives of the poor. Second, I want to understand Imre about what the Bank can do to assist China in addressing the still large challenges ofpoverty in the country. The Chinese leadership has identified a nunber of areas of imbalance in the country, including the gap between urban and rural incons and the dalnmge done to the environnent in recent years. China is the world's second largest enitter of greenhouse gases and contains 20 of the 30 nmst air-polluted cities in the world. There are also pressing issues relating to water and energy usage that I hope to understand better from this visit. These are areas where we have considerable experience, and where we can help. China recognizes that stability depends on correcting these inmbalances and a nunber of others, and we certainly would like to do what we can to support that effort.