The president of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim has revealed that his organization was not coerced by China into deleting parts of its latest economic report about the country that highlighted problems in the nation's financial system.

According to Reuters, when the report was initially released this month, it included passages that criticized the country's weak regulation of its "shadow-banking system," as well as the existence of large debts and financially questionable investments. The report underscored these issues among the things that China needs to address to make its economic reform successful. But a few days after the report was released, these comments were redacted.

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Kim, who is in Beijing for an official visit, has explained that the comments were published due to an oversight. "There was no pressure or communication with the Chinese government at all, he said.

He noted that while the Chinese stock market has experienced some fluctuations recently, the country's economy remains strong and "its fundamentals are sound."

Kim went on to praise China's economic reform plan and the country's huge contribution to global growth over the last couple of years, Xinhua reported. He added that despite the slowdown in China's annual economic growth rate, the forecasted rate of seven percent that the country is expected to grow this year is enviable.

When Premier Li Keqiang met with Kim on Thursday, he voiced confidence in the China's ability to handle the current economic challenges and continue to grow healthily. Li also noted that China is willing to further its cooperation with the World Bank and praised the suggested health reforms presented by the institution and the World Health Organization (WHO) in a recent joint research report.

Before meeting with the Prime Minister on Thursday, Kim signed an agreement with China to create a $50 million poverty relief fund. The fund, which is expected to strengthen the cooperation between both sides, will provide financing for investment, research and support human resource improvement initiatives globally, according to China Daily.

The visit by the head of the World Bank to China comes as Chinese authorities are putting together the final building blocks for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) - which many experts say could rival the World Bank. Kim, who ends his three-day visit to China today, has explained that the World Bank and the AIIB are not opposed to one another because they have similar objectives. He described the AIIB as an "important new partner."

TagsWorld Bank China, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, World Bank China Economic Update, World Bank China Report