Indian-American businessman Ajay Banga says no foregone conclusion

Amid frayed US-China relations over Taiwan's independence, Indian-American business leader Ajay Banga has announced that he is no longer a foregone conclusion.

China has sounded doubtful about backing Banga to lead the World Bank, saying it is 'open' to supporting other potential candidates based on merit.

Reports from Washington said 63-year-old Banga, who is nominated by US President Joe Biden to head the Bank, is due to visit China on Wednesday to meet officials from the People's Bank of China to seek Beijing's support for his candidature.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a media briefing in Beijing that the candidate nominated by the US side and is open to other potential candidates, and that the World Bank is the most influential multilateral development institution in the world and is of systemic importance to global poverty reduction and development.

China is ready to work with all parties for an open, transparent and merit-based presidential selection process, he said, as a major shareholder of the World Bank.

The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic relations with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, but is its most important international backer and arms supplier.

In August 2022, an infuriated China staged war games near Taiwan after a visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Taiwan is China's most sensitive territorial issue and a major bone of contention with Washington, which maintains only unofficial ties with Taipei, but is required by U.S. law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

China believes that the United States is colluding with Taiwan to challenge Beijing and give support to those who want the island to declare formal independence.

Taiwan's government says the People's Republic of China has never ruled the island and has no right to claim it, and only 23 million people can decide their future.

Biden announced last month that the US is nominating Banga to lead the World Bank, saying that the Indian-American business leader is uniquely equipped to lead the global institution at 'this critical moment in history. Banga would be the first Indian-American and Sikh-American to head either of the two top international financial institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, if confirmed by the World Bank Board of DirectorsBank Board of Directors.

Banga is currently serving as a Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. He was a President and CEO of Mastercard before he led the company through a strategic, technological and cultural transformation. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016.

President Biden said that ''Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history.

Biden said he has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies and guided organisations through periods of fundamental change.