2026 Lujiazui Forum Wencai Zhang

2026 Lujiazui Forum

June 17, 2026

Mr. Wencai Zhang,

Managing Director and World Bank Group Chief Administrative Officer

Plenary Session II: Reform and Cooperation in Global Financial Governance

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon.

I am delighted to join this discussion, and I would like to express my sincere appreciation to our hosts for their invitation.

The global economy is facing another major shock. The conflict in the Middle East has triggered sharp increases in energy prices, renewed inflationary pressures, and fueled expectations of tighter monetary policy. According to the World Bank's latest Global Economic Prospects report, released on June 15, global growth is projected to slow to 2.5 percent in 2026, from 2.9 percent in 2025-the lowest rate since the COVID-19 pandemic, with growth downgraded relative to January in nearly two-thirds of economies. If energy supply disruptions prove more severe than assumed and are accompanied by substantial financial stress, global growth could fall to just 1.3 percent in 2026.

At the same time, the recent progress in discussions surrounding a potential U.S.-Iran agreement has provided some positive signals to markets and the global economy. We hope developments in the Middle East will move in a more constructive direction.

Beyond the conflict in the Middle East, persistent trade policy uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and climate-related shocks continue to pose significant risks. At the same time, expanding investment in artificial intelligence and its broader adoption, increased attention to energy security and clean energy investment, and growing regional trade cooperation have the potential to support future growth.

In such an uncertain period, it is even more important to reaffirm the value of dialogue, openness, and practical cooperation in support of stability, confidence, and development.

Addressing today's challenges requires the right policy actions. At the global level, countries need to work together to safeguard energy and food security, strengthen an open and stable trading system, and accelerate the energy transition. At the domestic level, policymakers must strike the right balance between containing inflation and supporting growth, strengthen fiscal sustainability, and safeguard financial stability to create a more favorable environment for long-term development.

From the perspective of the World Bank Group, the evolution of global financial governance should remain anchored in three clear objectives: helping countries finance development, strengthening economic and financial resilience, and expanding opportunities for people.

Ultimately, the effectiveness of any financial system should be measured by its ability to support real economic progress and improve people's lives. That is why the World Bank Group has placed jobs at the center of its work.

Over the next 10 to 15 years, more than 1 billion young people in developing countries will reach working age. If we do not act now, there will not be enough jobs for all of them. Addressing this challenge requires stronger national policies. But it also requires an international system built for investment, inclusion, and resilience.

Against that backdrop, we need a global financial system that is more responsive, more representative, and more effective in addressing shared challenges. We must strengthen cooperation on debt, crisis preparedness, and preventing financial spillovers. We must ensure developing countries have a stronger voice in shaping solutions. And we must mobilize greater volumes of long-term financing for development.

In this process, China's experience and contribution are particularly important. As the world's largest developing country, China has remained a major contributor to global growth while accumulating valuable experience in poverty reduction, infrastructure development, green transition, and innovation. China has also played an important role in advancing global economic governance and strengthening the voice of developing countries in the international financial system.

The World Bank Group highly values its four-decade partnership with China. Looking ahead, we see significant opportunities to deepen collaboration on green development, digital transformation, quality job creation, and South-South cooperation, while supporting more inclusive and sustainable development across the Global South.

At the World Bank Group, we are supporting these objectives through practical action. Our strategy focuses on three core pillars: strengthening physical and human capital, fostering a business-enabling environment, and mobilizing private capital at scale.

To deliver maximum impact, we are targeting our financing and expertise toward five critical sectors: infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, and value-added manufacturing.

Since 2019, the World Bank Group's jobs-related efforts have reached 77 million people, reflecting the scale of the institution's engagement on employment and opportunity. Looking ahead, the World Bank Group aims to reach 500 million people through social protection and labor programs by 2030, with half expected to be women.

Achieving these ambitious goals requires substantial development finance. In FY25, the World Bank Group committed approximately US$162 billion in financing to client countries and private sector partners. At the same time, Multilateral Development Banks mobilized more than US$500 billion in private finance between 2016 and 2023, demonstrating the critical role MDBs play in crowding in private investment for development.

Financing, however, is only part of what the World Bank Group does. As a global development institution, we also play an important role in providing knowledge and expertise. Through research and analysis, technical assistance, capacity building, and knowledge exchange, we help countries learn from successful development experiences and translate sound ideas and policies into tangible development outcomes.

Equally important, the World Bank Group's strength lies not only in the financing it provides directly, but also in its ability to unlock much larger volumes of private capital. Through syndications and co-lending platforms, risk-sharing facilities, bond markets and structured finance, upstream work such as project design, public-private partnership preparation, and blended finance, the Bank Group helps shift projects from "too risky" to investable.

Ladies and gentlemen,

No country and no institution can meet today's challenges alone. Building a more inclusive, resilient, and effective international financial system requires developed and developing countries, the public and private sectors, to work together, build partnerships, and deepen cooperation on global financial governance.

Development is a shared endeavor. The World Bank Group stands ready to work with all partners in advancing this mission.

With that, I wish this Forum every success.

Thank you.

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