China has intensified efforts in flood control and rescue work as rising waters from swollen rivers triggered by days of torrential rain pose a huge threat to people living in flood-stricken areas.
As heavy downpours continued to batter the central and northern parts of east China's Jiangxi Province on Wednesday, the hydrological monitoring center of the Poyang lake, the largest freshwater lake in the country, issued a red alert for rainstorms.
Local authorities have stepped up inspections on dikes to clear up hidden dangers, and spared no efforts to drain floodwater and protect grains from flooding.
The water level of the Xiangjiang River in central China's Hunan Province rose above the alert line on Wednesday due to continuous rainfall. Over 5,200 people in Changsha, capital of Hunan, were dispatched to carry out inspections along the Xiangjiang River and its tributary Liuyang River.
China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters activated a level-IV emergency response to flooding in the province on Wednesday and sent a work team there to assist in local flood prevention efforts.
Heilongjiang Province in the northeastern part of the country also activated a level-IV emergency response to flooding as four rivers in the region were reported rising above alert line due to heavy downpours.
China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with level I being the most urgent response and a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
China ramps up response efforts as surging rivers threaten more areas
Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group, praised the cooperation between China and the World Bank as exemplary, emphasizing the equal importance of mutual learning and financial support between the two sides.
In an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG), Banga elaborated on the cooperation between China and the World Bank, stressing that lessons and practices from China's development can be helpful and inspirational for other countries.
"I think China is one of those countries that is the model case, in some ways, for how the bank should be working with a country. China at one time, 40 years ago, was a recipient of IDA grant. And IDA is that part of the bank that lends money to the countries that are most in need. China got from there to where, today, China is one of the larger donors to the bank. It is the perfect story of how you get income and money from the bank when you need it, and then the time comes, and you're better off, and you can help other countries," he said.
According to Banga, China has fully leveraged two key aspects of the World Bank--funding and expertise. Both have been pivotal in their cooperation over the past decades.
"Right from the beginning, China and its government did a sort of a collaboration with the bank, where the focus was not just on money but on knowledge. And I think the idea of pulling knowledge from the bank and from our people and our expertise and then using it for projects and development in China, and now taking China's experience and using it elsewhere. That again is a model case for the World Bank," said Banga.
Banga emphasized the global impact of China's sustainable development initiatives and the World Bank's dual role in providing financial and intellectual resources.
"Ideas of what you're doing with green, sustainable growth have been used elsewhere. Your train system, your infrastructure, these are things that can be used elsewhere. So the idea of a learning model which learns both ways is as important as the money. And I tell everyone that the World Bank is both a money bank and a knowledge bank, and China has made use of both," he said.
Founded in 1944, the World Bank has 189 member countries and five subsidiary organizations. Through the provision of loans, credits, and technical assistance, the bank supports the development of developing countries in the fields of infrastructure construction, education, health, agriculture, and so on. Over the years, it has played an important role in reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development, and solving global challenges.
On May 15, 1980, China officially resumed its lawful seat in the World Bank. In 1981, the World Bank and its subsidiary, the International Development Association (IDA), provided China with its first blended loan totaling 200 million U.S. dollars to support the development of higher education in China.
Over the past 40 years, China has transitioned from borrowing from the World Bank to donating to the bank on its own initiative and from an ordinary member country to the third largest shareholder. China's cooperation with the World Bank has witnessed the rapid development of its economy and has also promoted China to play an increasingly important role on the world stage.
Cooperation between China, World Bank exemplary: president
