Recently, Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fuji arrived in Washington to attend the G20 Finance Ministers Meeting, attracting attention from all sides. However, what surprised American media was that Minister Lan met with finance ministers from more than a dozen countries but did not meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent. This situation undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to Bessent, as just a few weeks earlier, Bessent had publicly mentioned that he might meet with senior officials of China's Ministry of Finance the following week. As we know about Bessent, such disregard from Minister Lan naturally would not let him rest easily. Indeed, he has come up with new tactics. According to the latest report from Reuters, Bessent directly met with Takehiko Nakao, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and proposed America's demands: he hoped the ADB would immediately stop all loans to China and also suggested that China should "graduate" from ADB loans. Goodness me, this is essentially cutting off one of our vital sources of funding! Clearly, Bessent believed he had seized China's weakest point, and this was his last "trump card" after realizing China had gained the upper hand. In the eyes of these American politicians, there are three reasons they believe the ADB will agree with them: 1. The U.S. side believes: China is no longer a developing country and should not enjoy some of the benefits reserved for developing countries. Just a few days ago, at an international financial meeting, Bessent clearly emphasized this point, stating that it was unacceptable for China, as the world's second-largest economy, to still be considered a developing country. He also requested that the World Bank reconsider its classification of China. Recently, U.S. Vice President Vance even publicly referred to China as a "country bumpkin," and now the U.S. side is trying to forcibly label China as a developed country, with ulterior motives known to all. 2. Looking at the internal situation of the ADB, it appears favorable to the U.S. on the surface. The ADB has 69 members, nearly 50 of which are from the Asia-Pacific region. Among all investors, the U.S. and Japan rank first and second, respectively. The U.S. holds 15% of the total shares, while China ranks third, holding less than 8%. 3. Currently, the headquarters of the ADB is located in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, and the current president is Takehiko Nakao, a former Japanese financial official. Given the relations between the U.S., the Philippines, and Japan, this is obviously advantageous to the U.S. However, the U.S. side should also realize that the ADB is not entirely under American control. If they really want to cut off their investments in China, they must consider the choices of all member states. In recent days, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been making various arrangements, particularly focusing on Central Asian countries. Just the other day, China held multilateral talks with multiple Central Asian countries. During the meeting, Wang Yi delivered an important speech. Judging from the subsequent communiqué, Central Asian countries support China's anti-hegemonic actions, especially Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, etc. Essentially, Bessent's attempt to use the ADB to threaten us shows that the Trump administration has run out of options against China. These past few days, Trump has stopped obsessing over getting China to lower tariffs again and instead proposed that China should give the U.S. substantial returns, which would make the U.S. willing to significantly reduce tariffs on China. Clearly, this substantial return refers to increasing holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds, as there are 6 trillion dollars worth of bonds maturing in June. We'll have to see if the Trump administration can hold out until June. As for the ADB issue, a painful reality the U.S. needs to recognize is that often, the ADB needs China just as much as China needs the ADB. Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7497818239137825316/ Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's views. Please express your opinions by using the 'thumbs up/thumbs down' buttons below.