The Asian Development Bank sees value in continuing to lend to China, its president said, in response to calls for the institution to stop granting loans to the world's second-largest economy.

ADB President Takehiko Nakao also said the multilateral financial institution's lending to China "is not huge" so it will not crowd out borrowers from poorer countries.

"There is merit in lending to China. One we can have influence over such policies like climate change and the environment, which might have a positive impact on developing countries and to the region," Nakao told reporters.

The Japanese government, which is a founding member of the ADB, has urged the Manila-based lender to stop lending to China on the grounds that it is rich enough to "graduate" from aid.

Nakao said ADB earns from its loans to China and this income could also be used to support its operations in poorer countries.

ADB's committed loans to China have fallen to 12 percent of its total in 2018 from 19 percent in 2013, Nakao said.