WASHINGTON — The World Bank said on Monday that its president, Jim Yong Kim, would step down from his post in February to join a private infrastructure investment firm, an unexpected departure that comes nearly three years before the end of his term.

The abrupt resignation, which is effective Feb. 1, could prompt a clash between the Trump administration and other governments over the future of the international body. The United States traditionally selects the president of the World Bank, which is made up of more than 100 countries, but Mr. Trump has taken a skeptical view about the importance of multilateral institutions. The World Bank’s priorities — like combating climate change and engaging in foreign aid — also tend to be at odds with those of the Trump administration. Last month, the bank announced it would invest $200 billion toward fighting climate change over a five-year period.

The Trump administration did surprise some development experts last year when it supported a $13 billion capital increase for the World Bank, the first such boost since 2010. The increase, which the White House had initially resisted, was conditional on the bank putting cost controls in place and came with the understanding that lending to China would be expected to decline. The bank lent $64 billion to developing countries last year, a figure that included China.

“Jim Kim had deftly struck a balance between keeping the Trump administration mollified and involving the World Bank in work on areas that the administration has been openly hostile to,” said Eswar Prasad, the former head of the International Monetary Fund’s China division. “The new head of the institution will face a difficult challenge in maintaining the institution’s legitimacy and relevance while hewing to the Trump administration’s open hostility to multilateralism.”