SB 2362, the “Ending Lending to China Act of 2025,” would direct the United States to oppose new loans and technical assistance from multilateral development banks to the People’s Republic of China. The bill is built around congressional findings that China is now a large, upper-middle-income economy with substantial foreign exchange reserves, has already surpassed the income thresholds used by major development banks for graduation from borrowing eligibility, and continues to receive significant lending from institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
The bill would require the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct U.S. representatives at multilateral development banks to use the U.S. voice, vote, and influence to block any additional assistance to China and to support ending lending to countries that exceed the relevant graduation income threshold. It also requires Treasury to submit annual reports to Congress on China’s borrowing status, China’s representation and voting power at these banks, which countries have exceeded or graduated from eligibility thresholds, and U.S. efforts to encourage graduation from assistance programs.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would not directly change domestic U.S. benefit or tax laws, but it would alter U.S. policy and voting instructions at international financial institutions. It would affect the Treasury Department, U.S. executive directors at multilateral development banks, and the banks’ lending decisions regarding China and other countries above graduation-income thresholds. The bill also creates an ongoing reporting requirement to the relevant congressional committees and reinforces a policy position that U.S. support should be used to end development-bank lending to countries that no longer meet eligibility standards.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have strong support among its Senate Republican sponsors and reflects a broadly skeptical view of continued international development-bank lending to China. The findings and policy statement frame the measure as a response to China’s economic size and its continued access to concessional or development-bank financing despite having surpassed income thresholds. No committee transcript or vote data is available, so the broader legislative sentiment beyond the sponsors cannot be assessed from the record provided.
Contention
The main point of contention is whether China should still receive any lending or technical assistance from multilateral development banks after reaching upper-middle-income status and exceeding graduation thresholds. Supporters argue that continued lending is inconsistent with the banks’ development mission and unfair given China’s economic strength and large reserves. Potential critics would likely focus on whether all forms of assistance should be cut off, whether technical assistance should be treated differently from loans, and whether the United States should push a blanket policy for all countries above the threshold rather than allowing case-by-case decisions by the banks.