Paul Wolfowitz, the president of the World Bank, has sharply criticised China and its banks for ignoring human rights and environmental standards when lending to developing countries in Africa.

Mr Wolfowitz said big Chinese banks ignored the so-called “Equator Principles”, a voluntary code of conduct pledging that projects financed by private bank lending met certain social and environmental standards. The guidelines were launched in 2003 under the aegis of the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank. Almost 80 per cent of commercial banks worldwide have adopted the guidelines.