President of the World Bank Group Ajay Banga has said China's new growth model and its green development drive are the two important aspects he always pays attention to when attending meetings on China's development.
Banga attended the China Development Forum held in Beijing in late March. Under the theme "The Continuous Development of China," the event was seen as a platform for dialogue among the Chinese government, global businesses, academia, and international organizations.
In an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG) which was released on Friday, Banga elaborated on the aspects he pays attention to when attending such meetings.
"I used to come frequently to the China Development Forum. I see this event as a way for the private sector to engage with government and its policies in China for where China wants to go with its new idea of growth. They've had a certain model of growth for a long time, and it's done really well. I think that's the first issue, what's going to happen now, in the future. The second big topic for me is the topic of green growth showing that you can grow while being environmentally sensible. So, these two are quite important to me," said Banga.
World Bank president highlights China's new growth model, green development
Persistent heavy rainfall has led to rising water levels across the Yangtze River basin, creating significant flood control challenges for the areas along the main streams and tributaries.
The Three Gorges Reservoir, located upstream on the Yangtze in central China's Hubei Province, has been gradually reducing its discharge rate to alleviate pressure on downstream areas. On Thursday, the outflow was reduced from 24,000 cubic meters per second to 18,000 cubic meters per second and was further lowered to 14,000 cubic meters per second on Friday. This has caused the reservoir level to rise by approximately 2.9 meters, storing 1.46 billion cubic meters of floodwater.
One of the Yangtze's major tributaries, the Zijiang River in central China's Hunan Province, has also experienced significant flooding. The Shaoyang hydrological station recorded water levels exceeding the warning level, triggering the fourth flood event of this year on Zijiang.
The Miluo River, another river flowing through Hunan, flows from east to west into Dongting Lake before joining the Yangtze River. On Monday afternoon, the water level at the Pingjiang hydrological station on the Miluo River hit 77 meters, exceeding the warning level by about seven meters.
Torrential rains have affected over 200,000 people in Pingjiang County, with more than 1,000 roads and bridges damaged and public transportation disrupted. No casualties have been reported so far.
In east China's Anhui Province, the town of Huikou in Susong County is the first town the Yangtze enters as it flows into Anhui. Water levels at the Huikou hydrological station have been rising continuously, exceeding the warning level by about one meter by Monday afternoon. The water levels along the main course of the Yangtze River in the province have all exceeded the flood warning levels and continue to rise.
Additionally, 19 tributaries including the Shuiyang River, Chuhe River, and Xihe River have also surpassed their respective warning levels.
Yangtze River basin battles severe flooding after intense rainfall
