*Banking on Beijing?* With USAID <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZR-bhKN2umTSjkevDgwkyAxrJWrlTVHsjOEX2y5nf6guMkt84G6tkBD19yCZK27L3756oAMU=> dismantled and staring into the abyss <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POrHUo-5KRfbBK_1WFNkKZULP9o2s_27ArRQPBtxV4gvhmNfMRGNMTB3L9EShfdVxbVuZkKZOywKQzi2thWfiQjLKGKruYjgeDtooakIoOuLZ3IsYnIngKYeDUu4l32aa1M923LGUEFVmYO5jHf3S0764KHNS-IG9Jyf41f_EzvcwrdLHk_MoYnSlP3OBSh352wFQoXY46NQA2K-WctGXbD9BamguvEcRdCeSciRKykHyB6RW6QMBzm9usSvjZ-saXQ==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZR-bhKAj9dmLj671sg66hCfNVaemChDCOyPh7bIerHZpwWk3BuM4LgA8ACODe7Z_NoRpkNkU=>, the aid community is anxiously awaiting what might be next on the chopping block. While the general sentiment is that Trump wouldn’t go so far as to pull out of the World Bank <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POgeWpEfG2n0n7gG-jSSvJvqYAGV7x8avAf3JfXBM023Sr4n9b3g185ujKEby2bsveWb4u5COGUFQQZueg_0-l-SCwPZIwCYdIHFCG6YKwyV7P97wnPQ0Gn4ciUE_dC-vL0_1uEjnlDMP6hG6AdG8Y6ciPlc3_znknlfcfgTTb33es0fZmnEva-LCc8SamnwZ6Oe6Aksnme8BLJ4ZtH2riYraGZhkHb89qLPWGplMJbUG4aqh1GPaHIGWpE53O64PQg==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZR-bhKAj9dmLj671sg66hCfNVaemChDCOyPh7bIerHZpwWk3BuM4LgA8ACODe7Z_NoRpkNkU=>, almost no one predicted he would get rid of USAID either.
But there’s one intriguing catch if the U.S. does withdraw: The headquarters of the bank would then migrate to the largest shareholder. Right now, that’s Japan, followed by several large European nations. But if the bank were to recapitalize, some experts say China would be eager to become the largest shareholder <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POgeWpEfG2n0n7gG-jSSvJvq2zas-1RRXhffh2oe8d1qzPWFiPRbmsflr5n4pkpNTmS-njsTbuj7nzkKAFIODUS6yyYxASrhP14gdpJh7h0MbWTsqIXbnv68hoW3C_dGehGf9t6tGWOcJn-e6kfDCnjn21lhsT-1xj3ouXnVHYuxnjVF3_s8G3reI8qt2FvGgPiB24Fo1qQMlNXWRLchRZ7wKQJhEsLwBDo36YGY8VDfLhTVq1ZRx-RW5FUBgtr-GtA==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZR-bhKAj9dmLj671sg66hCfNVaemChDCOyPh7bIerHZpwWk3BuM4LgA8ACODe7Z_NoRpkNkU=>, thereby snatching the headquarters away from Washington, D.C., and moving it — along with all the influence and cachet it carries — to Beijing. But not everyone thinks that’s plausible. For one thing, the *prospect of relocating the bank to Beijing* could actually be seen as leverage for Trump to not withdraw, given his geopolitical rivalry with China. “It is inconceivable to me that the U.S. would vote for a capital increase that makes China the largest shareholder and then ship the headquarters to Beijing,” Kevin Gallagher of Boston University <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZR-bhKM5pcNvXtGxTu8vpc141wfoh42rW1Sm-ZmCZELKe9PhD6vily6SgEt1zy4jL3NuA488=> tells my colleague Jesse Chase-Lubitz. For another thing, China already has the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZR-bhKMEfoeEPdxElQl-b5gzx1lmdwxJrLFfWCe5YGZCRKCkOv4wMusoJ9hhdo1sI2tU6rcc=> headquartered in Beijing. “*[China] has never said we want to take over the World Bank*,” Gallagher points out. “They've just created an apparatus on the side that is bigger.” So could Europe step into the breach? “Hopefully [Europe] has been stunned enough on the security and the NATO story to realize that they really have to get their act together and work with the Japanese,” Gallagher says. “If they took a proactive approach, you could see a Western consortium that bought up the shares.” *Read more:* Could the future of the World Bank be outside of Washington? <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POgeWpEfG2n0n7gG-jSSvJvq2zas-1RRXhffh2oe8d1qzPWFiPRbmsflr5n4pkpNTmS-njsTbuj7nzkKAFIODUS6yyYxASrhP14gdpJh7h0MbWTsqIXbnv68hoW3C_dGehGf9t6tGWOcJn-e6kfDCnjn21lhsT-1xj3ouXnVHYuxnjVF3_s8G3reI8qt2FvGgPiB24Fo1qQMlNXWRLchRZ7wKQJhEsLwBDo36YGY8VDfL4U-JWzfrcLBiYuV_1pk1Sw==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZR-bhKAj9dmLj671sg66hCfNVaemChDCOyPh7bIerHZpwWk3BuM4LgA8ACODe7Z_NoRpkNkU=> <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZR-bhKCY2mDPaV9qmJnV_mDMQjoB9ET2GdwgHTfwKMl8eJce8cPG9JXkt5BwbGDSqk6u_ZiM=> *ICYMI:* Could the US pull out of the World Bank? Unlikely — but not impossible <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POgeWpEfG2n0n7gG-jSSvJvqYAGV7x8avAf3JfXBM023Sr4n9b3g185ujKEby2bsveWb4u5COGUFQQZueg_0-l-SCwPZIwCYdIHFCG6YKwyV7P97wnPQ0Gn4ciUE_dC-vL0_1uEjnlDMP6hG6AdG8Y6ciPlc3_znknlfcfgTTb33es0fZmnEva-LCc8SamnwZ6Oe6Aksnme8BLJ4ZtH2riYraGZhkHb89qLPWGplMJbUGAeWwWrZf9I7LsY2ItsCqlw==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZR-bhKAj9dmLj671sg66hCfNVaemChDCOyPh7bIerHZpwWk3BuM4LgA8ACODe7Z_NoRpkNkU=>
